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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.

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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: cabinet · club · cell · season · prune · pitcher · capital · rush

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cell — in biology
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. season — of the year
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. season — in sport
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. capital — money
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — for golf
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. rush — hurry
  22. capital — a city
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pitcher — a jug

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