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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. ground — the earth
  4. perch — the fish
  5. bark — to shout
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fine — high quality
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. spring — the season
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spring — of water
  21. fine — all right
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. ground — a position
  24. capital — money

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