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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.

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: saw · craft · bark · club · track · spring · capital · pound

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. track — a song
  3. craft — a skill
  4. spring — a coil
  5. craft — boats
  6. track — a path
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. capital — a city
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. club — for golf
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. pound — a weight
  16. saw — the tool
  17. capital — money
  18. club — a group
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. track — to keep track

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