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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.

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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: kid · ground · bark · temple · bat · rock · club · capital

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rock — music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. capital — money
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rock — a stone
  20. kid — to tease
  21. capital — a city
  22. ground — a position
  23. kid — child
  24. club — for golf

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