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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bat — the animal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitch — completely
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. capital — money
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. object — an aim
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. rash — a series
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bark — to shout
  24. object — a thing

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