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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: wake · sharp · capital · ball · can · bark · bay · mine

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. mine — for digging
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. capital — a city
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. sharp — clever
  17. wake — a trail
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bark — to shout
  21. capital — money
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. ball — a great time
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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