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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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. game — a match
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. rule — a law
  8. capital — a city
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. club — a group
  11. game — wild animals
  12. last — finally
  13. capital — money
  14. last — final
  15. bark — to shout
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. club — for dancing
  20. last — to go on
  21. club — for golf
  22. rule — government
  23. bat — the animal
  24. game — a kind of play

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