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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bark — to shout
  4. capital — money
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. season — in sport
  7. march — the month
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. march — music
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. season — of the year
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. mark — a grade
  18. capital — a city
  19. rush — hurry
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. march — the month
  23. mark — a trace
  24. date — on the calendar

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