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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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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: capital · jam · row · snap · pit · bark · rash · club

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. rash — hasty
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. capital — a city
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — for dancing
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. bark — to shout
  15. rash — a series
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. capital — money
  18. club — a group
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pit — in a race
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. row — a line

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