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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. kid — to tease
  3. spell — a short time
  4. staff — employees
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. staff — employees
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. spell — letters
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. kick — in football
  14. capital — money
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. season — in sport
  18. spell — magic
  19. staff — a stick
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. kid — child
  22. capital — a city
  23. season — of the year
  24. mark — a trace

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