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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bark — to shout
  5. race — a contest
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. season — in sport
  8. spring — of water
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. board — a committee
  11. capital — a city
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. board — to get on
  14. season — of the year
  15. ground — a position
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. ground — the earth
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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