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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 120 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. track — a path
  5. kid — child
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. track — to keep track
  9. rest — what's left
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rest — a break
  17. track — a song
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. rest — what's left
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mate — to breed
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. mouse — for a computer

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