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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · scale · capital · lie · game · fall · racket · stem

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — a match
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. fall — to drop
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. capital — money
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. scale — size or range
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stem — to come from
  14. capital — a city
  15. game — wild animals
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fall — the season
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. lie — to recline
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. racket — a loud noise

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