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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: tear · lean · clip · bark · capital · suit · prune · pitch

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. suit — clothes
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bark — to shout
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. suit — in cards
  10. pitch — completely
  11. capital — money
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. clip — a video
  15. lean — to bend
  16. tear — to rip
  17. suit — to fit
  18. lean — thin
  19. clip — to cut
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. prune — to trim
  23. capital — a city
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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