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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bat — the animal
  3. content — the amount
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. content — happy
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. root — of a word
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. root — the cause
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. pound — a weight

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