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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. last — finally
  4. file — a tool
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. file — a line of people
  8. capital — money
  9. last — final
  10. spell — magic
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. key — in music
  13. spell — a short time
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. spell — letters
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. last — to go on
  18. capital — a city
  19. key — for a lock
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. key — the most important part
  22. bark — to shout
  23. file — a document
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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