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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 116 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 · cabinet · track · rush · prune · present · swing · degree

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. prune — to trim
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. present — there
  5. swing — to play on
  6. track — a song
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. capital — money
  9. track — a path
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. degree — an amount
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. present — the time now
  14. swing — in golf
  15. track — to keep track
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. swing — music
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. prune — to trim
  22. rush — hurry
  23. degree — temperature
  24. capital — a city

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