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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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 — exactly
  4. spell — letters
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. object — to protest
  8. spell — magic
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. object — an aim
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. land — to come down
  13. spell — a short time
  14. sharp — clever
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. land — a country
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — a city
  19. object — a thing
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. land — ground

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