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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. capital — money
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rock — music
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. craft — boats
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mark — a grade
  10. file — a document
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. present — the time now
  14. mark — a trace
  15. present — a gift
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. file — a tool
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — a skill
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. capital — a city
  24. rock — a stone

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