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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chair — a leader
  9. capital — a city
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. pound — a weight
  15. sharp — clever
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bark — to shout
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. capital — money
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chest — of your body

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