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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. spell — a short time
  3. cap — of ice
  4. squash — the sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. drill — army training
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. drill — the tool
  9. spell — letters
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. capital — a city
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. cap — a lid
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — to shout
  17. squash — to crush
  18. spell — magic
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. drill — a practice
  21. capital — money
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cap — a hat
  24. perch — the fish

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