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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. bark — to shout
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. land — ground
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. capital — money
  7. scale — in music
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. fall — to drop
  10. capital — a city
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bank — for money
  13. mark — a grade
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bank — for money
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. bank — of a river
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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