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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 116 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 cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. firm — a company
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. clip — a video
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. club — a group
  10. clip — for paper
  11. land — to come down
  12. firm — steady
  13. ball — a great time
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. club — for golf
  16. clip — to cut
  17. firm — decided
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bark — to shout
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. land — ground
  22. club — for dancing
  23. land — a country
  24. capital — a big letter

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