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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mug — to rob
  4. bear — the animal
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. mug — a cup
  10. band — a ring
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. band — a music group
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mug — a face
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. capital — money
  24. racket — a loud noise

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