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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: prune · craft · shower · cell · ground · chip · capital · leaves

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. chip — to eat
  3. capital — a city
  4. capital — money
  5. craft — a skill
  6. ground — the earth
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. chip — for betting
  9. prune — to trim
  10. shower — rain
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. cell — in biology
  13. ground — a position
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. prune — to trim
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cell — a phone
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. craft — boats
  22. ground — crushed
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. leaves — lets stay

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