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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. deal — to handle
  3. capital — money
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. spring — of water
  11. season — in sport
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bark — to shout
  16. season — of the year
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. capital — a city
  20. spring — a coil
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pitcher — a jug

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