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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bark — to shout
  4. track — a path
  5. capital — money
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. track — to keep track
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bound — obliged
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. clip — a video
  14. press — to push
  15. lean — thin
  16. press — newspapers
  17. press — a publisher
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bound — tied together
  20. capital — a city
  21. track — a song
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bound — certain

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