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

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. craft — a skill
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. scale — size or range
  6. craft — boats
  7. bound — tied together
  8. capital — money
  9. bound — obliged
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. track — a song
  14. fine — all right
  15. track — to keep track
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bound — certain
  19. fine — high quality
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. track — a path
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. scale — in music

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