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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. fall — the season
  6. pit — a hole
  7. court — of a king
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bear — the animal
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pit — in a race
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mouse — the animal

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