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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. mark — a grade
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bound — obliged
  6. capital — money
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. field — a subject
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. field — farmland
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. capital — a city
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. field — for sport
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mine — an explosive

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