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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. roll — a list
  6. capital — money
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — to breed
  11. pop — soda
  12. capital — a city
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pop — to visit
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pop — music
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. roll — a cake
  23. saw — the tool
  24. roll — on a roll

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