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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. track — a song
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. squash — to crush
  5. firm — steady
  6. row — a line
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. firm — decided
  9. sharp — clever
  10. row — to paddle
  11. track — to keep track
  12. capital — a city
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. chip — for betting
  15. capital — money
  16. track — a path
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. squash — the sport
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bark — to shout
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. firm — a company
  24. chip — to eat

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