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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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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: fall · prune · jam · tube · capital · snap · hide · pit

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. capital — money
  7. snap — to click
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pit — in a race
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pit — a hole
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. prune — to trim
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. tube — a container
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. fall — the season
  22. capital — a city
  23. fall — to drop
  24. tube — the underground

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