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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · wake · file · stem · straw · capital · toast · prune

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. capital — a city
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. toast — bread
  7. stem — to come from
  8. file — a tool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. file — a document
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wake — a trail
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. file — a line of people
  20. prune — to trim
  21. capital — money
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. toast — the most admired

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com