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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: capital · prune · cue · ground · patient · pitcher · stock · mouse

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cue — a signal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. prune — to trim
  7. capital — money
  8. ground — a position
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cue — a hint
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. stock — shares
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stock — goods
  19. cue — for pool
  20. capital — a city
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. prune — the fruit

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