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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · plane · capital · bark · racket · race

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. race — a contest
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cap — of ice
  6. plane — a tool
  7. race — humankind
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. cap — a hat
  11. race — the arms race
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cap — a lid
  18. racket — for tennis

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