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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. capital — a city
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. net — after costs
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bark — to shout
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. race — the arms race
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. race — a contest
  12. capital — money
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. track — a path
  15. track — to keep track
  16. race — humankind
  17. net — in sport
  18. track — a song

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