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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: content · mug · branch · wake · capital · prune · ground · foot

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. ground — a position
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mug — a cup
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mug — to rob
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. capital — a city
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. capital — money
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ground — the earth
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. foot — a measure
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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