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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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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: rule · prune · squash · mark · pit · capital · lean · fall

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. rule — government
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. squash — to crush
  9. lean — thin
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. fall — to drop
  12. lean — to bend
  13. fall — the season
  14. mark — a trace
  15. pit — in a race
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rule — a law
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pit — a hole
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mark — a grade
  24. capital — a city

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