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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cap — of ice
  8. clip — a video
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. clip — for paper
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. capital — money
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. clip — to cut
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bat — the animal
  22. capital — a city
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. cap — a hat

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