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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. capital — a city
  7. bark — to shout
  8. row — to paddle
  9. foot — a measure
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bore — to drill
  12. bass — low music
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. capital — money
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. row — a line
  19. bass — the fish
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bass — the instrument

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