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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: leaves · capital · root · craft · perch · nail · kid · rule

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — a skill
  5. rule — government
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rule — a law
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — of a plant
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — child
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. capital — a city
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. root — the cause

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