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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. march — music
  4. kid — to tease
  5. capital — money
  6. stand — to bear
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. march — the month
  9. bark — to shout
  10. march — the month
  11. foot — a measure
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. capital — a city
  17. kid — child
  18. foot — the bottom

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