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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mate — a friend
  3. capital — money
  4. field — farmland
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. mate — a partner
  7. current — of water
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. firm — decided
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. staff — employees
  13. field — for sport
  14. current — electric
  15. field — a subject
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mate — to breed
  18. firm — a company
  19. staff — a stick
  20. current — happening now
  21. capital — a city
  22. staff — employees
  23. firm — steady
  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