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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bark — to shout
  4. firm — a company
  5. board — to get on
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. capital — a city
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. cap — a hat
  16. board — a committee
  17. squash — the sport
  18. firm — steady
  19. band — a ring
  20. firm — decided
  21. cap — of ice
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. cap — a lid

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