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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. capital — a city
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bark — to shout
  6. face — to point toward
  7. file — a document
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. squash — the sport
  12. capital — money
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. face — to confront
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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