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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. capital — a city
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. row — to paddle
  15. chip — for betting
  16. pit — a hole
  17. capital — money
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. chip — to eat
  21. pit — in a race
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. row — a line
  24. racket — for tennis

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