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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. perch — the fish
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. capital — a city
  17. lie — to recline
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — completely
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bark — to shout
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. racket — for tennis

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