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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · pitcher · lean · patient · prune · root · capital · ball

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. lean — thin
  3. kid — child
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ball — a dance
  6. capital — money
  7. lean — to bend
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. root — the cause
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. prune — to trim
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. root — of a word
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. root — of a plant
  20. kid — to tease
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ball — a great time
  24. patient — a sick person

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