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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 116 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: net · prune · bank · cap · court · fork · capital · craft

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bank — for money
  3. craft — a skill
  4. capital — money
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. court — for sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. fork — in a road
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cap — a hat
  14. capital — a city
  15. prune — to trim
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cap — a lid
  18. prune — to trim
  19. court — of a king
  20. bank — for money
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. craft — boats
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bank — of a river

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