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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cap — a hat
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cap — of ice
  15. fall — the season
  16. capital — a city
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. cap — a lid
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. capital — money

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