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

Word bank: dip · pitch · bay · capital · cell · bark

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. capital — money
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. capital — a city
  18. dip — to sink

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