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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: fall · charge · band · hide · prune · capital · wound · present

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. charge — a price
  3. wound — an injury
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. band — a ring
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. band — a music group
  9. capital — a city
  10. charge — electricity
  11. capital — money
  12. present — there
  13. present — a gift
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fall — to drop
  17. present — the time now
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. prune — to trim
  20. charge — in control
  21. fall — the season
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fall — to drop
  24. hide — animal skin

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