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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fall · swing · last · capital · bark · pitcher · firm · prune

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. fall — the season
  2. capital — a city
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. capital — money
  6. firm — a company
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. last — to go on
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — final
  14. swing — in golf
  15. fall — to drop
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. firm — decided
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bark — to shout
  22. swing — music
  23. last — finally
  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