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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. land — ground
  3. object — an aim
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. track — a path
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. toast — bread
  8. stem — to come from
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. tear — to rip
  17. track — to keep track
  18. capital — money
  19. bark — to shout
  20. capital — a city
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — a thing

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