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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: bound · bark · capital · root · shower · fork · coach · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. root — of a plant
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. capital — money
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a word
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bark — to shout
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. prune — to trim
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bound — certain
  20. capital — a city
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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