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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. capital — money
  3. object — to protest
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bear — the animal
  7. object — an aim
  8. capital — a city
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. season — of the year
  12. drill — army training
  13. bear — the animal
  14. drill — the tool
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. season — in sport
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. drill — a practice
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pitch — completely

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