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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bass — low music
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. board — to get on
  16. bass — the fish
  17. fine — all right
  18. fine — high quality
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. capital — money
  21. wind — moving air
  22. board — a committee
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bass — the instrument

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