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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bank — for money
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. ground — crushed
  11. capital — money
  12. kid — child
  13. bank — for money
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cell — a phone
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cell — in biology
  20. capital — a city
  21. ground — a position
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. ground — the earth

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