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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: prune · row · fine · capital · lean · cue · cold · pop

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. pop — soda
  3. capital — a city
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cue — for pool
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. fine — high quality
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cold — an illness
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — not warm
  16. row — a line
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. capital — money
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. row — to paddle
  21. fine — all right
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cue — a signal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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