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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 · deal · cabinet · capital · bark · ground · band · last

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. last — to go on
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. capital — a city
  7. band — a music group
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. ground — crushed
  10. deal — to handle
  11. last — final
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. bark — to shout
  15. capital — money
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. band — a ring
  19. last — finally
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. prune — to trim
  24. band — a rubber band

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