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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. fall — to drop
  6. track — to keep track
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. chest — a box
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — of a plant
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. fall — the season
  15. chest — of your body
  16. track — a song
  17. file — a tool
  18. track — a path
  19. capital — a city
  20. root — the cause
  21. file — a document
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. fall — to drop
  24. saw — the tool

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