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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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. spell — a short time
  4. spring — a coil
  5. tear — from crying
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. capital — money
  11. branch — a division
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. tear — to rip
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. tear — from crying
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. spell — letters
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. spell — magic

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