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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bear — the animal
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. capital — money
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. squash — the sport
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. ball — a dance
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. scale — in music
  18. squash — to crush
  19. capital — a city
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rock — a stone
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. jam — a tight spot

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