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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. object — to protest
  8. file — a line of people
  9. band — a ring
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. band — a music group
  12. object — an aim
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. file — a tool
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — a weight
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bass — low music
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. file — a document

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