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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 120 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. club — a group
  3. scale — size or range
  4. perch — the fish
  5. scale — in music
  6. row — a line
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. ball — a dance
  9. club — for dancing
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. club — for golf
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. race — humankind
  17. row — to paddle
  18. ball — a great time
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — a city
  22. bark — to shout
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. ball — a round shape

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