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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: squash · prune · capital · cap · pit · stem · field · ground

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. cap — a hat
  6. capital — a city
  7. ground — the earth
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. field — a subject
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. field — farmland
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — crushed
  17. pit — in a race
  18. field — for sport
  19. capital — money
  20. squash — to crush
  21. stem — to come from
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. prune — to trim

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