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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: bass · capital · bear · craft · game · squash · bark · court

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. capital — a city
  4. craft — boats
  5. bark — to shout
  6. game — wild animals
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. bear — the animal
  10. court — of a king
  11. capital — money
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bass — low music
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. squash — the sport
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bear — the animal
  21. game — a match
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bass — the fish
  24. squash — the vegetable

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