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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 120 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: cabinet · wound · mine · bark · season · capital · tear · object

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. object — a thing
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. object — to protest
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wound — an injury
  11. capital — money
  12. season — of the year
  13. tear — from crying
  14. object — an aim
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. season — in sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. tear — to rip
  21. mine — for digging
  22. capital — a city
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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