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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. capital — money
  4. firm — decided
  5. bulb — for light
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. press — a publisher
  8. firm — steady
  9. capital — a city
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. swing — to play on
  12. hand — in cards
  13. swing — in golf
  14. spring — the season
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. press — to push
  18. hand — help
  19. spring — a coil
  20. swing — music
  21. bark — to shout
  22. firm — a company
  23. press — newspapers
  24. spring — of water

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