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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 116 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. last — final
  5. bound — obliged
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bound — certain
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bark — to shout
  13. capital — a city
  14. snap — to click
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. last — to go on
  17. mine — for digging
  18. chip — for betting
  19. bound — tied together
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. last — finally
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. capital — money

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