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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. spell — magic
  4. spring — the season
  5. rest — what's left
  6. capital — a city
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. capital — money
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. pitch — completely
  13. spell — letters
  14. dip — to sink
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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