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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: capital · race · date · pitch · leaves · clip · bark · mouse

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. race — the arms race
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — completely
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. capital — a city
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bark — to shout
  14. date — the fruit
  15. capital — money
  16. race — humankind
  17. clip — a video
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. race — a contest
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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