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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. snap — to click
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. capital — money
  5. spell — letters
  6. capital — a city
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. spell — magic
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. spell — a short time
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. pound — a weight
  16. fine — all right
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — a grade
  19. bark — to shout
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. fine — high quality
  24. bark — of a tree

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