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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. last — finally
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. last — final
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. mark — a grade
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. pound — a weight
  16. mark — a trace
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bark — to shout
  20. last — to go on
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pound — to hit hard

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