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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bound — certain
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. bark — to shout
  9. capital — a city
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. capital — money
  14. bound — tied together
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. board — to get on
  18. bound — obliged
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wax — to grow
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. board — a committee
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. board — a flat piece

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