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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — a gift
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. hand — help
  6. capital — money
  7. suit — clothes
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. suit — in cards
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bark — to shout
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. hand — in cards
  17. present — there
  18. capital — a city
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. tear — from crying
  24. suit — to fit

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