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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 120 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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. foot — a measure
  3. pop — to visit
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. pop — music
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. present — there
  13. mate — a friend
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chip — to eat
  18. present — the time now
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. pop — soda
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. chip — for betting
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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