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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. fine — high quality
  3. swing — to play on
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. capital — money
  7. last — final
  8. staff — a stick
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bark — to shout
  12. last — finally
  13. capital — a city
  14. rash — hasty
  15. staff — employees
  16. toast — bread
  17. swing — in golf
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. fine — all right
  21. rash — a series
  22. swing — music
  23. last — to go on
  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