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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. capital — a city
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bass — the fish
  6. spring — a coil
  7. swing — music
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. craft — boats
  10. spring — of water
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. spring — the season
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — hasty
  17. capital — money
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bass — low music
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. rash — on the skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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