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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 124 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. capital — money
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. march — the month
  5. staff — employees
  6. spell — magic
  7. capital — a city
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rash — a series
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. march — the month
  12. court — of law
  13. rash — hasty
  14. court — for sport
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. march — music
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. spell — letters
  21. court — of a king
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. staff — a stick
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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