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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.

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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: fall · capital · sharp · land · pit · stem · row · prune

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. pit — a hole
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. capital — a city
  6. stem — to come from
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. land — ground
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fall — the season
  12. land — to come down
  13. capital — money
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. sharp — clever
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. land — a country
  23. fall — to drop
  24. row — a line

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