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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. capital — money
  5. craft — boats
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bark — to shout
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. ground — a position
  14. capital — a city
  15. ground — the earth
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. ground — crushed
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. stock — shares
  24. craft — a skill

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