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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bore — to tire
  6. ground — a position
  7. spring — of water
  8. game — a match
  9. ground — the earth
  10. land — to come down
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bore — to drill
  17. land — ground
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. spring — the season
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. game — wild animals
  22. ground — crushed
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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