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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: prune · ground · rule · mouse · coach · spring · capital · march

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. prune — to trim
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. spring — a coil
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. capital — a city
  7. rule — a law
  8. march — the month
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. prune — to trim
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. spring — of water
  17. ground — crushed
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. spring — the season
  20. capital — money
  21. rule — government
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mouse — for a computer

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