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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: capital · degree · craft · lash · scale · pop · prune · march

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. capital — a city
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. capital — money
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. degree — temperature
  10. prune — to trim
  11. degree — an amount
  12. scale — size or range
  13. march — music
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pop — soda
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. craft — a skill
  19. scale — in music
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — music
  23. degree — from a university
  24. craft — boats

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