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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. mine — for digging
  4. row — a line
  5. present — the time now
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fork — in a road
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bark — to shout
  11. net — for catching
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. lie — to recline
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. present — there
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. capital — a city
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. present — a gift
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. fork — a garden tool

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