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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. row — a line
  3. kick — in football
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. prune — to trim
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pass — a permit
  20. spell — a short time
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. nail — for a hammer

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