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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. capital — a city
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. capital — money
  8. content — the amount
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — to shout
  18. pitch — completely
  19. mine — for digging
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitcher — a jug

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