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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: craft · perch · capital · branch · snap · bass · prune · foot

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. foot — a measure
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. craft — a skill
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. craft — boats
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. branch — a division
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. snap — to click
  15. perch — the fish
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bass — the fish
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bass — low music

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