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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. clip — for paper
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. dip — to sink
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. field — for sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. deal — to handle
  10. clip — a video
  11. field — farmland
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. capital — money
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. field — a subject
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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