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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: rash · pit · capital · jam · cold · stem · prune · sharp

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stem — to come from
  3. pit — a hole
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. rash — a series
  7. pit — in a race
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. capital — a city
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. cold — an illness
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. capital — money
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rash — hasty

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