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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: charge · snap · swing · stick · capital · bark · race · sharp

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. race — a contest
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. charge — a price
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. sharp — clever
  9. snap — to click
  10. swing — music
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. capital — a city
  15. charge — electricity
  16. charge — in control
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. swing — in golf
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. race — the arms race
  22. swing — to play on
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. capital — money

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