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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: race · mine · bore · rush · court · capital · prune · pitch

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. race — a contest
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. mine — for digging
  6. court — for sport
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. capital — a city
  9. race — humankind
  10. rush — hurry
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. court — of a king
  14. bore — to tire
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pitch — completely
  17. court — of law
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. prune — to trim

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