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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — to shout
  3. capital — a city
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. bank — of a river
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bank — for money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — money
  12. clip — a video
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. clip — for paper
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bank — for money
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. wound — an injury

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