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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 120 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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lean — to bend
  5. band — a music group
  6. race — a contest
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. ball — a dance
  10. branch — a division
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. ball — a great time
  13. race — the arms race
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. prune — to trim
  16. craft — a skill
  17. lean — thin
  18. prune — to trim
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. race — humankind
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. band — a ring
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. capital — money

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