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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. hand — help
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hand — in cards
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bound — obliged
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. capital — money
  13. bound — certain
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. dip — to sink
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. pitch — completely
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. leaves — lets stay

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