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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · capital · prune · fork · cap · season · fall · pitcher

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fall — the season
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — money
  7. game — a match
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. season — in sport
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cap — a lid
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fall — to drop
  21. season — of the year
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. cap — of ice
  24. fork — in a road

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