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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. capital — money
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cell — in biology
  5. game — a match
  6. firm — decided
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. game — wild animals
  9. prune — to trim
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. fork — in a road
  12. capital — a city
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. firm — a company
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bark — to shout
  21. firm — steady
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. prune — to trim

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