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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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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: saw · fork · fall · capital · wake · prune · deal · leaves

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. capital — a city
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. saw — the tool
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fall — to drop
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. deal — to handle
  16. capital — money
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. fork — in a road
  19. saw — the tool
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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