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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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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. firm — a company
  3. capital — a city
  4. file — a tool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. capital — money
  8. press — a publisher
  9. firm — decided
  10. file — a document
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. firm — steady
  17. press — to push
  18. press — newspapers

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