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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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. hand — help
  2. bound — certain
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. capital — a city
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. current — of water
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. current — happening now
  11. bark — to shout
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bound — obliged
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rush — hurry
  19. current — electric
  20. press — newspapers
  21. capital — money
  22. hand — in cards
  23. press — to push
  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