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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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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: bark · shower · content · capital · craft · season · lie · sharp

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. season — of the year
  2. capital — a city
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bark — to shout
  8. content — happy
  9. lie — to recline
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. sharp — clever
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. shower — rain
  17. content — the amount
  18. season — in sport
  19. shower — to wash
  20. craft — a skill
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. craft — boats
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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