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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. capital — a city
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. rest — a break
  6. wound — an injury
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. ground — crushed
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wound — an injury
  13. capital — money
  14. bark — to shout
  15. branch — a division
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ground — the earth
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. scale — in music
  22. ground — a position
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. rest — what's left

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