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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. file — a document
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. kick — in football
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pit — in a race
  10. file — a tool
  11. capital — a city
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. ball — a dance
  18. capital — money
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. pit — a hole
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bark — to shout

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