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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: capital · fine · cell · racket · prune · object · pitcher · mouse

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. prune — to trim
  5. object — to protest
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. fine — high quality
  8. object — an aim
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. capital — money
  11. cell — in biology
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. fine — all right
  21. object — a thing
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pitcher — a jug

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