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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: prune · mate · lean · capital · chair · jam · content · leaves

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. capital — money
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. chair — a leader
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. lean — thin
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a friend
  16. content — the amount
  17. capital — a city
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mate — a partner

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