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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. scale — in music
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. capital — money
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wound — an injury
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. scale — size or range
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. wound — an injury
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bark — to shout
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. board — a committee
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. board — to get on
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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