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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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Word bank
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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: fork · object · racket · mug · prune · chair · capital · bark

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. mug — a face
  3. object — to protest
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. chair — a leader
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mug — a cup
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fork — in a road
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. capital — a city
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mug — to rob
  22. object — a thing
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. capital — money

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