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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. shower — rain
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. capital — money
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. shower — to wash
  15. net — for catching
  16. bark — to shout
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. mine — for digging
  22. capital — a city
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. leaves — lets stay

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