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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 · prune · staff · date · leaves · degree · pit · clip

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pit — a hole
  3. degree — an amount
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. date — the fruit
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. capital — money
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pit — in a race
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. degree — from a university
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. staff — a stick
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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