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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 · fall · pop · nail · stand · net · deal · prune

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. net — in sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fall — to drop
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. net — after costs
  10. prune — to trim
  11. fall — the season
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. capital — a city
  14. net — for catching
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. pop — to visit
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — to bear
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. deal — to handle
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. capital — money

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