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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: leaves · capital · hand · file · prune · rush · stock · object

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. object — to protest
  3. prune — to trim
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. rush — hurry
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. file — a document
  9. capital — money
  10. object — a thing
  11. capital — a city
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. file — a tool
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. stock — goods
  17. object — an aim
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. hand — in cards
  23. file — a line of people
  24. stock — shares

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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