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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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468
Word bank
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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. snap — to click
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. rest — a break
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. wound — an injury
  13. file — a tool
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. capital — a city
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rest — what's left
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. file — a document

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