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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 120 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: club · capital · pop · root · arm · bark · squash · cell

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. club — a group
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. pop — music
  5. capital — a city
  6. cell — in biology
  7. capital — money
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bark — to shout
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. squash — the sport
  17. club — for golf
  18. cell — a phone
  19. club — for dancing
  20. root — the cause
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. root — of a word
  23. pop — soda
  24. capital — a big letter

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