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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: firm · capital · prune · track · cue · degree · board · wind

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. track — a path
  3. cue — for pool
  4. wind — moving air
  5. firm — a company
  6. cue — a signal
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. track — a song
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. board — a committee
  14. wind — moving air
  15. firm — decided
  16. degree — an amount
  17. board — to get on
  18. cue — a hint
  19. track — to keep track
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. firm — steady
  22. degree — temperature
  23. prune — to trim
  24. degree — from a university

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