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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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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: racket · cell · march · bark · mug · wind · capital · mate

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a city
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mate — a partner
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mate — a friend
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. march — music
  12. mate — to breed
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. mug — a face
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mug — a cup
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bark — to shout
  22. cell — a phone
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. march — the month

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