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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. craft — a skill
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. craft — boats
  6. capital — a city
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bound — tied together
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — the cause
  13. bound — certain
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — obliged
  21. foot — a measure
  22. saw — the tool
  23. capital — money
  24. root — of a word

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