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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bark — to shout
  4. row — a line
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fine — all right
  7. cap — a lid
  8. current — electric
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cap — a hat
  15. row — to paddle
  16. current — of water
  17. current — happening now
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. fine — high quality
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. capital — a city
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. capital — money

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