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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. swing — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. court — of a king
  14. bark — to shout
  15. race — the arms race
  16. court — of law
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. season — of the year
  19. rush — hurry
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — in golf
  22. court — for sport
  23. race — a contest
  24. rush — to hurry

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