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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. bound — certain
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. capital — a city
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. club — a group
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. race — humankind
  18. bark — to shout
  19. capital — money
  20. race — a contest
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bound — obliged
  23. race — the arms race
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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