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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. craft — boats
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bat — the animal
  6. snap — to click
  7. board — to get on
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. craft — a skill
  15. capital — money
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — rain
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. board — a committee
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. shower — to wash
  24. capital — a city

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