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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. can — a tin
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bark — to shout
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rock — music
  10. can — a tin
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mine — for digging
  17. game — a match
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. can — to be able to
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. rock — a stone
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. deal — an agreement

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