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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. ground — a position
  3. spell — a short time
  4. capital — money
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spell — letters
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spell — magic
  10. press — newspapers
  11. face — part of the head
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bark — to shout
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. capital — a city
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. face — to confront
  22. face — to point toward
  23. ground — crushed
  24. press — to push

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