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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tear · prune · bowl · file · staff · capital · fine · season

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. tear — to rip
  6. fine — all right
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. file — a line of people
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. capital — a city
  14. prune — to trim
  15. season — in sport
  16. capital — money
  17. tear — from crying
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. file — a document
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fine — high quality
  22. season — of the year
  23. file — a tool
  24. staff — employees

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