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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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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: straw · capital · fall · bark · sharp · wave · rest · craft

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. craft — boats
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. fall — to drop
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fall — to drop
  10. capital — money
  11. rest — what's left
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rest — what's left
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. craft — a skill
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. capital — a city
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rest — a break

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