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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: capital · date · prune · lie · object · band · march · racket

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. band — a ring
  5. date — the fruit
  6. object — to protest
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. object — a thing
  14. capital — money
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. march — music
  19. prune — to trim
  20. band — a music group
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. capital — a city
  24. date — on the calendar

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