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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 120 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. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. hand — in cards
  10. march — the month
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cell — in biology
  14. capital — a city
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cell — a phone
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. march — the month
  20. hand — help
  21. capital — money
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. march — music
  24. dip — to dunk

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