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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. clip — for paper
  5. key — in music
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. spring — of water
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. key — for a lock
  10. capital — a city
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. clip — a video
  14. capital — money
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. key — the most important part
  17. spring — a coil
  18. clip — to cut
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. spring — the season
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — in cards
  24. capital — a big letter

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