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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 · mark · bark · ground · scale · pitcher · craft · cold

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. capital — a city
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mark — a trace
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. capital — money
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bark — to shout
  18. craft — a skill
  19. ground — crushed
  20. scale — in music
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. craft — boats
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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