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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
468
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: capital · bark · clip · cue · chair · ball · mug · pound

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. ball — a dance
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mug — a face
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cue — for pool
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. mug — to rob
  14. bark — to shout
  15. capital — a city
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cue — a signal
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. cue — a hint
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. capital — money
  23. mug — a cup
  24. chair — a leader

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