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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. cap — a hat
  3. court — of a king
  4. ball — a great time
  5. saw — the tool
  6. court — of law
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. present — a gift
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cap — of ice
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — a short time
  15. capital — money
  16. cap — a lid
  17. present — the time now
  18. present — there
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. ball — a dance
  22. capital — a city
  23. court — for sport
  24. spell — magic

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