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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bark — to shout
  3. ball — a dance
  4. fall — the season
  5. capital — a city
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mate — to breed
  11. ball — a great time
  12. squash — the sport
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. squash — to crush
  19. capital — money
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rush — hurry
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bark — of a tree

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