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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. race — a contest
  3. track — a song
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. capital — money
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. race — humankind
  15. board — a committee
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. capital — a city
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bark — to shout
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. race — the arms race
  23. track — a path
  24. patient — a sick person

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