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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. stock — goods
  4. bark — to shout
  5. race — humankind
  6. cue — a signal
  7. object — to protest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. race — a contest
  11. cue — a hint
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. capital — a city
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cue — for pool
  19. shower — rain
  20. capital — money
  21. object — a thing
  22. stock — shares
  23. object — an aim
  24. shower — to wash

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