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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. net — for catching
  3. bulb — for light
  4. net — after costs
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. land — a country
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fine — all right
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. land — to come down
  15. net — in sport
  16. fine — high quality
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — a contest
  22. land — ground
  23. bulb — for light
  24. capital — a big letter

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