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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: cell · mine · pass · wave · track · ground · capital · prune

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. ground — a position
  6. track — a path
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. capital — a city
  15. cell — a phone
  16. capital — money
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a song
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. pass — a permit
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. ground — the earth
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mine — for digging

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