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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 ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ground — crushed
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — a thing
  6. ground — the earth
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — to eat
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. cap — of ice
  15. ground — a position
  16. cap — a hat
  17. chip — for betting
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rush — hurry
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cap — a lid
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. object — to protest

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