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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. march — the month
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rash — a series
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. capital — money
  9. rash — hasty
  10. march — music
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. march — the month
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — completely
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. snap — to click

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