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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. last — final
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. chip — to eat
  5. capital — money
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — finally
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. dip — to sink
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bark — to shout
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. last — to go on
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. capital — a city
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chip — in a computer
  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