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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. capital — a city
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. capital — money
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. ball — a great time
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bark — to shout
  18. snap — to click

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