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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 · foot · prune · march · patient · wake · wind · bear

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bear — the animal
  3. capital — a city
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. prune — to trim
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. foot — a measure
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wind — moving air
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. march — the month
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. march — music
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. march — the month
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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