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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. club — a group
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. staff — employees
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. club — for dancing
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. club — for golf
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. capital — money
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. branch — a division
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. chest — of your body
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. chest — a box

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