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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. spring — of water
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pound — a weight
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — boats
  9. shower — to wash
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. capital — money
  12. fine — all right
  13. season — of the year
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. spring — a coil
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. shower — rain
  18. season — in sport
  19. capital — a city
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. spring — the season
  24. fine — high quality

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