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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. capital — money
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. capital — a city
  6. spring — the season
  7. rock — music
  8. spring — of water
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. bark — to shout
  14. key — in music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. degree — from a university
  17. key — for a lock
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. degree — temperature
  20. key — the most important part
  21. spring — a coil
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rock — a stone
  24. mouse — 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