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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bark · wound · game · capital · charge · bat · bear · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a lid
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. charge — electricity
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. capital — money
  13. bear — the animal
  14. charge — in control
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. game — a match
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bear — the animal
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. charge — a price

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