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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. capital — a city
  5. rest — what's left
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. capital — money
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. track — a path
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. rest — what's left
  17. track — a song
  18. kid — child
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rest — a break
  23. bat — the animal
  24. kid — to tease

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