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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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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: present · capital · bulb · kick · board · prune · tear · date

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. tear — from crying
  7. present — a gift
  8. board — to get on
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. prune — to trim
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bulb — for light
  15. capital — a city
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — money
  18. bulb — for light
  19. date — the fruit
  20. board — a committee
  21. tear — from crying
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. capital — a big letter

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