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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — decided
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. net — in sport
  7. wake — a trail
  8. clip — for paper
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. board — to get on
  11. board — a committee
  12. capital — a city
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. clip — to cut
  15. capital — money
  16. clip — a video
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. net — after costs
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. firm — a company
  23. bark — to shout
  24. net — for catching

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