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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. track — a path
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bark — to shout
  7. capital — money
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. ground — crushed
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. kid — child
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. ground — the earth
  16. track — a song
  17. kid — to tease
  18. ground — a position
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. track — to keep track
  21. capital — a city
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. stem — to come from

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