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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: prune · capital · wind · craft · mug · present · coach · cell

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — a city
  3. craft — a skill
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. capital — money
  6. present — the time now
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. present — there
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — a phone
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — to rob
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mug — a cup
  20. present — a gift
  21. prune — to trim
  22. craft — boats
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. cell — in biology

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