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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: capital · wound · band · clip · craft · saw · board · prune

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. board — a committee
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. clip — a video
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. saw — the tool
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. craft — boats
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. clip — for paper
  12. prune — to trim
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. wound — an injury
  16. craft — a skill
  17. clip — to cut
  18. prune — to trim
  19. saw — the tool
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. board — to get on

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