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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rush — hurry
  6. content — the amount
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pitch — completely
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. content — happy
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. mine — for digging
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. capital — a city
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bore — to drill

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