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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. capital — money
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. court — for sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. pass — a permit
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. court — of law
  15. bark — to shout
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wound — an injury
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. prune — to trim
  20. court — of a king
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pound — a weight
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. pound — to hit hard

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