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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: charge · pop · fork · capital · prune · squash · stand · spell

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. spell — a short time
  3. capital — money
  4. charge — in control
  5. stand — to bear
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. pop — music
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — to visit
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. charge — electricity
  15. capital — a city
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spell — letters
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. prune — to trim
  22. spell — magic
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fork — in a road

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