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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: staff · prune · dip · capital · chip · face · drill · shower

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. staff — employees
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. dip — to sink
  8. staff — a stick
  9. drill — army training
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. capital — a city
  13. chip — to eat
  14. drill — a practice
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chip — for betting
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. shower — to wash
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. capital — money
  21. staff — employees
  22. drill — the tool
  23. face — part of the head
  24. shower — rain

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