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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. mate — a partner
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — a city
  5. last — final
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. file — a document
  10. dip — to sink
  11. mate — to breed
  12. capital — money
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. last — to go on
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mate — a friend
  18. last — finally
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. file — a tool
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — all right
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. dip — a sauce

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