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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. drill — a practice
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. row — a line
  10. pitch — completely
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. drill — army training
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. capital — money
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. row — to paddle

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