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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: game · capital · jam · leaves · tube · prune · safe · bark

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. capital — a city
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. prune — to trim
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. tube — a container
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. capital — money
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. bark — to shout
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. game — a match
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. game — wild animals
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. tube — the underground
  24. jam — a tight spot

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