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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. current — of water
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. capital — a city
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. tear — to rip
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. kick — in football
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. deal — to handle
  16. current — happening now
  17. capital — money
  18. content — the amount
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. content — happy
  21. tear — from crying
  22. current — electric
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bark — of a tree

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