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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. roll — a list
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mate — to breed
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. key — in music
  11. bark — to shout
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wind — moving air
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. mate — a friend
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. capital — money
  22. mate — a partner
  23. key — for a lock
  24. roll — a cake

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