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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bark — to shout
  4. board — to get on
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — a trace
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — music
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rock — a stone
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. capital — money
  23. board — a committee
  24. kid — child

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