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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: key · bark · sharp · temple · clip · foot · capital · rash

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. key — for a lock
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. key — the most important part
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. sharp — clever
  18. key — in music
  19. rash — hasty
  20. capital — money
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rash — a series
  23. clip — for paper
  24. foot — a measure

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