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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. prune — to trim
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. current — happening now
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. current — of water
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. capital — money
  10. season — of the year
  11. bark — to shout
  12. season — in sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. capital — a city
  15. stock — shares
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. current — electric
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. stock — goods
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. season — to add flavour

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