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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: capital · prune · cold · last · rash · bank · cue · pitch

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rash — hasty
  5. prune — to trim
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. cue — for pool
  9. bank — for money
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. last — final
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bank — for money
  14. last — to go on
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bank — of a river
  18. rash — a series
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pitch — completely
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. last — finally
  24. prune — to trim

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