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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. row — to paddle
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. kid — child
  6. race — humankind
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bark — to shout
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chip — to eat
  12. kid — to tease
  13. capital — money
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. race — a contest
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. race — the arms race
  21. row — a line
  22. chip — for betting
  23. face — to confront
  24. row — a quarrel

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