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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. club — for dancing
  3. capital — money
  4. club — for golf
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bark — to shout
  7. drill — army training
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. drill — the tool
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. club — a group
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bulb — for light
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. march — the month
  22. bulb — for light
  23. drill — a practice
  24. lie — to recline

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