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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cap — of ice
  4. lie — to recline
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bear — the animal
  7. last — final
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cap — a lid
  13. net — for catching
  14. last — finally
  15. capital — a city
  16. last — to go on
  17. capital — money
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cap — a hat
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. net — after costs

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