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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 · temple · capital · ground · mug · stock · land · stand

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  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. ground — a position
  2. stock — shares
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mug — to rob
  6. land — ground
  7. capital — money
  8. ground — the earth
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ground — crushed
  13. stand — to bear
  14. mug — a face
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stock — goods
  18. land — a country
  19. mug — a cup
  20. capital — a city
  21. land — to come down
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. stand — for spectators
  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