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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 124 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. plane — a tool
  7. capital — money
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. capital — a city
  10. bark — to shout
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. hand — help
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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