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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: prune · capital · ball · deal · wound · cabinet · last · season

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — money
  5. season — in sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wound — an injury
  9. last — final
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. deal — to handle
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. last — finally
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. ball — a dance
  21. capital — a city
  22. ball — a great time
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. capital — a big letter

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