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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.

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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: prune · rock · swing · pitcher · march · chip · capital · track

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. march — the month
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. swing — in golf
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rock — music
  8. swing — music
  9. track — a path
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. swing — to play on
  12. chip — for betting
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. track — to keep track
  15. march — the month
  16. track — a song
  17. capital — a city
  18. march — music
  19. capital — money
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rock — a stone
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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