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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wound — an injury
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bear — the animal
  7. chip — for betting
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bear — the animal
  10. capital — a city
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — for catching
  13. track — to keep track
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. capital — money
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. craft — boats
  19. track — a path
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. wind — moving air
  23. net — in sport
  24. track — a song

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