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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: trunk · capital · mug · pass · leaves · fan · dip · prune

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. prune — to trim
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. mug — a face
  5. dip — to sink
  6. mug — a cup
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. mug — to rob
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. capital — money
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. pass — a permit
  22. capital — a city
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pass — to spend time

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