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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: ground · content · rock · race · bark · capital · bat · can

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. race — humankind
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bat — the animal
  6. capital — a city
  7. content — happy
  8. rock — a stone
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rock — music
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — the earth
  14. can — to be able to
  15. race — a contest
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. capital — money
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. content — the amount

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