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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  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. swing — to play on
  2. bark — to shout
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. stock — shares
  5. tear — from crying
  6. capital — money
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. tear — to rip
  10. branch — a division
  11. degree — from a university
  12. stock — goods
  13. charge — a price
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — in golf
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. capital — a city
  19. charge — in control
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. swing — music
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. charge — electricity
  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