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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: patient · race · capital · bass · prune · rock · root · lean

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. race — humankind
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bass — the fish
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. root — of a word
  10. capital — money
  11. root — of a plant
  12. race — the arms race
  13. rock — music
  14. bass — low music
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. race — a contest
  20. lean — to bend
  21. root — the cause
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. rock — a stone

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