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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 120 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. degree — from a university
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. present — there
  9. squash — to crush
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. capital — a city
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bark — to shout
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. present — a gift
  17. squash — the sport
  18. present — the time now
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. capital — money
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bark — a dog's sound

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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