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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. land — to come down
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. lean — thin
  7. capital — money
  8. bass — the fish
  9. ball — a dance
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — to bend
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bass — low music
  16. capital — a city
  17. degree — temperature
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. degree — from a university
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. degree — an amount

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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