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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. band — a music group
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. capital — a city
  10. suit — in cards
  11. court — of a king
  12. suit — clothes
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rest — what's left
  15. cell — in biology
  16. suit — to fit
  17. court — for sport
  18. rest — a break
  19. bark — to shout
  20. capital — money
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. court — of law
  23. rest — what's left
  24. band — a ring

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