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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 116 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. staff — employees
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rule — government
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. shower — rain
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rule — a law
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. staff — a stick
  18. staff — employees
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wound — an injury
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. rule — to rule out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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