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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 116 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: mine · swing · bound · pitch · dip · wax · capital · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pitch — completely
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. swing — to play on
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. mine — for digging
  15. capital — money
  16. bound — tied together
  17. swing — music
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. dip — to sink
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. capital — a city
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — obliged
  24. swing — in golf

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