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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. rash — a series
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. capital — money
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. cell — in biology
  14. court — of a king
  15. cell — a phone
  16. kick — in football
  17. court — of law
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. tube — a container
  20. rash — hasty
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. court — for sport
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. cell — in a prison

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