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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. capital — money
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fall — to drop
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. hand — help
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. capital — a city
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bass — low music
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bass — the fish
  22. fall — the season
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. sharp — exactly

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