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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: prune · rush · capital · stock · patient · spring · lie · saw

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. spring — a coil
  8. prune — to trim
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. spring — the season
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stock — goods
  13. lie — to recline
  14. spring — of water
  15. capital — a city
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. rush — hurry
  21. stock — shares
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. saw — the tool

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