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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. capital — a city
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. firm — a company
  5. shower — to wash
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. firm — steady
  10. firm — decided
  11. file — a document
  12. capital — money
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. object — a thing
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. object — to protest
  18. file — a tool
  19. bark — to shout
  20. file — a line of people
  21. clip — to cut
  22. shower — rain
  23. object — an aim
  24. capital — a big letter

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