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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. net — in sport
  6. land — ground
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. net — for catching
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. capital — a city
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. capital — money
  15. snap — to click
  16. land — a country
  17. track — a path
  18. net — after costs
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. land — to come down
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rush — hurry

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