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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: craft · deal · wound · fan · capital · bark · branch · tube

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. craft — boats
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. tube — the underground
  11. branch — a division
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. capital — a city
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. bark — to shout
  19. capital — money
  20. tube — a container
  21. wound — an injury
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. fan — a supporter

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