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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. rash — a series
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a plant
  8. rash — hasty
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. root — of a word
  11. content — the amount
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. dip — to sink
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. capital — money
  18. content — happy
  19. bark — to shout
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bear — the animal
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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