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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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. hand — help
  4. suit — in cards
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. can — a tin
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. suit — to fit
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stand — to bear
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. ground — a position
  17. can — a tin
  18. ground — the earth
  19. can — to be able to
  20. capital — money
  21. suit — clothes
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. ground — crushed

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