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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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468
Word bank
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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. capital — a city
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. pit — a hole
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rest — what's left
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rest — a break
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. bark — to shout
  16. rash — hasty
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. rash — a series
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pit — in a race
  21. capital — money
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bowl — a dish
  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