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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: pop · bark · swing · capital · file · mark · nail · race

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mark — a grade
  4. file — a tool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. pop — soda
  8. mark — a trace
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. race — humankind
  14. capital — a city
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. swing — in golf
  17. race — a contest
  18. swing — to play on
  19. pop — music
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. race — the arms race
  22. capital — money
  23. bark — to shout
  24. swing — music

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