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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. season — in sport
  3. capital — a city
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. fine — all right
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. race — a contest
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. drill — the tool
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. season — of the year
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mate — a partner
  16. drill — army training
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mate — a friend
  19. drill — a practice
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. fine — high quality
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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