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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. march — the month
  3. capital — money
  4. spell — magic
  5. march — music
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. spell — a short time
  8. stand — to bear
  9. pop — to visit
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. march — the month
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. pop — music
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. capital — a city
  22. pop — soda
  23. perch — the fish
  24. spell — letters

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