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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. swing — in golf
  3. charge — a price
  4. capital — money
  5. swing — to play on
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. club — a group
  8. charge — electricity
  9. bark — to shout
  10. capital — a city
  11. club — for golf
  12. tear — to rip
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. pop — soda
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. swing — music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pop — music
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pop — to visit
  22. club — for dancing
  23. charge — in control
  24. branch — a division

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