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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 116 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rash — a series
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. capital — a city
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — hurry
  7. cap — a lid
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cap — a hat
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bore — to tire
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. capital — money
  19. wound — an injury
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bore — to drill
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bark — to shout

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