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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. capital — a city
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. spell — magic
  6. file — a document
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bark — to shout
  9. press — a publisher
  10. spell — a short time
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. press — newspapers
  14. fork — in a road
  15. press — to push
  16. file — a tool
  17. pop — music
  18. file — a line of people
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pop — to visit
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. spell — letters
  24. pop — soda

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