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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: pit · field · prune · cell · mug · spell · club · capital

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. field — farmland
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a city
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mug — a face
  7. capital — money
  8. mug — to rob
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. field — a subject
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — letters
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. club — for golf
  16. pit — in a race
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cell — a phone
  20. field — for sport
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mug — a cup
  24. spell — magic

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