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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: craft · pitch · fan · capital · branch · saw · foot · ground

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. ground — a position
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. capital — money
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. saw — the tool
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — a skill
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. ground — the earth
  17. branch — a division
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. saw — the tool
  23. ground — crushed
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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