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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. file — a tool
  3. bass — low music
  4. season — in sport
  5. bass — the fish
  6. capital — a city
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bark — to shout
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. file — a document
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. file — a line of people
  16. season — of the year
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bear — the animal
  19. content — happy
  20. ground — a position
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bear — the animal

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