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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bound — certain
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bark — to shout
  5. shower — to wash
  6. capital — money
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bound — tied together
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. capital — a city
  14. sharp — clever
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — to handle
  19. shower — rain
  20. march — the month
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bound — obliged
  24. deal — an agreement

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