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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a line
  10. spell — a short time
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. rule — government
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. dip — to sink
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. rule — a law
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bark — to shout
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. prune — to trim

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