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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: mate · prune · hand · ground · dip · staff · capital · stand

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. hand — in cards
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mate — to breed
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. stand — to bear
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. ground — a position
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. ground — crushed
  14. capital — a city
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mate — a friend
  18. staff — employees
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. ground — the earth
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. mate — a partner
  23. dip — to sink
  24. capital — money

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