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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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. prune — to trim
  4. wound — an injury
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bark — to shout
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. craft — boats
  11. firm — a company
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. prune — to trim
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. row — a line
  21. firm — steady
  22. firm — decided
  23. wound — an injury
  24. row — to paddle

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