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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 120 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: straw · pitch · bulb · perch · trunk · capital · prune · fine

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitch — completely
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bulb — for light
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. fine — high quality
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. capital — money
  18. bulb — for light
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. prune — to trim
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. trunk — of a tree

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