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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · coach · pitcher · bark · capital · scale · craft · rush

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. scale — in music
  7. clip — to cut
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. craft — boats
  12. bark — to shout
  13. clip — for paper
  14. scale — size or range
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. clip — a video
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — money
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rush — hurry
  24. craft — a skill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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