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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bank — for money
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bark — to shout
  6. last — to go on
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. capital — money
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. clip — a video
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. capital — a city
  16. bank — for money
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bank — of a river
  20. last — finally
  21. clip — to cut
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. last — final
  24. mine — for digging

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