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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 · cap · kid · file · squash · spell · craft · capital

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. file — a line of people
  3. kid — to tease
  4. spell — magic
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. capital — a city
  7. file — a tool
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. file — a document
  10. capital — money
  11. craft — boats
  12. kid — child
  13. craft — a skill
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cap — a hat
  17. spell — letters
  18. cap — of ice
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cap — a lid
  21. spell — a short time
  22. squash — to crush
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. squash — the sport

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