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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. capital — money
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bark — to shout
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. press — to push
  8. track — to keep track
  9. craft — boats
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. capital — a city
  12. press — a publisher
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. track — a song
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — a skill
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. kick — in football
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. press — newspapers

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