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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. capital — a city
  10. cap — of ice
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cap — a hat
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. cap — a lid
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. saw — the tool
  19. tube — a container
  20. game — a match
  21. capital — money
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bark — to shout

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