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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. track — a path
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. degree — temperature
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. firm — a company
  7. bark — to shout
  8. firm — steady
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cue — a hint
  11. capital — a city
  12. degree — an amount
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cue — for pool
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. firm — decided
  17. cue — a signal
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. degree — from a university
  24. track — a song

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