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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. stock — shares
  8. capital — money
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. capital — a city
  11. stock — goods
  12. ground — crushed
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ground — a position
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. dip — to sink
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bark — to shout

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