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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. chip — for betting
  5. court — of law
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pit — a hole
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. capital — money
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. wax — to grow
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. chip — to eat
  16. capital — a city
  17. pit — in a race
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pitch — completely
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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