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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: wind · capital · chair · last · bark · calf · tear · craft

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. bark — to shout
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chair — a leader
  6. last — to go on
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. tear — to rip
  10. capital — money
  11. wind — moving air
  12. craft — boats
  13. capital — a city
  14. tear — from crying
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. last — finally
  21. last — final
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. calf — of the leg

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