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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. tube — the underground
  3. prune — to trim
  4. land — a country
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. key — for a lock
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. land — to come down
  9. bark — to shout
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — money
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. tube — a container
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. land — ground
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. key — in music
  21. club — for golf
  22. capital — a city
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. club — for dancing

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