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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: pit · fine · pop · ball · hand · prune · current · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. hand — help
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. fine — all right
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. capital — money
  10. current — electric
  11. pit — a hole
  12. pop — soda
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. pop — music
  15. current — of water
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. prune — to trim
  18. hand — in cards
  19. current — happening now
  20. pit — in a race
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fine — high quality
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. pop — to visit

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