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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. scale — in music
  8. ground — a position
  9. capital — money
  10. wake — a trail
  11. ground — crushed
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. capital — a city
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bass — low music
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. ground — the earth
  23. bark — to shout
  24. wake — before a funeral

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