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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. cell — in biology
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. foot — a measure
  9. root — of a word
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. kid — child
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — a city
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. capital — a big letter

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