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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bark — to shout
  3. can — to be able to
  4. rest — a break
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — wild animals
  8. capital — money
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. march — the month
  11. cap — of ice
  12. can — a tin
  13. cap — a lid
  14. march — music
  15. track — a path
  16. can — a tin
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cap — a hat
  19. capital — a city
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. march — the month
  22. rest — what's left
  23. track — to keep track
  24. rest — what's left

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