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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 124 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. last — final
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. capital — a city
  10. bark — to shout
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. last — to go on
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. ball — a dance
  16. last — finally
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. capital — money
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. ball — a great time
  24. mouse — the animal

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