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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. board — to get on
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bound — tied together
  6. race — humankind
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. capital — money
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bark — to shout
  16. board — a committee
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. bound — certain
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. capital — a city
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. cell — in biology
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. bark — of a tree

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