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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. branch — a division
  3. bark — to shout
  4. scale — size or range
  5. plane — a tool
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. last — to go on
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. last — finally
  11. capital — money
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. last — final
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. scale — in music
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. squash — to crush
  22. capital — a city
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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