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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. capital — a city
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. ground — crushed
  9. staff — employees
  10. ground — a position
  11. staff — employees
  12. ground — the earth
  13. track — to keep track
  14. board — a committee
  15. capital — money
  16. scale — size or range
  17. track — a path
  18. staff — a stick
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. scale — in music
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. track — a song

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