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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. suit — clothes
  3. charge — a price
  4. field — a subject
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. spell — a short time
  7. field — for sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. suit — in cards
  10. charge — electricity
  11. capital — money
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. net — in sport
  14. capital — a city
  15. bark — to shout
  16. spell — magic
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. spell — letters
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. field — farmland
  22. charge — in control
  23. suit — to fit
  24. net — for catching

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