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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 120 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: track · prune · capital · last · board · kick · firm · ground

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. board — to get on
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kick — in football
  8. firm — a company
  9. last — to go on
  10. prune — to trim
  11. capital — a city
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — final
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. track — to keep track
  17. board — a committee
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. ground — the earth
  21. capital — money
  22. last — finally
  23. firm — decided
  24. firm — steady

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