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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. net — in sport
  3. court — for sport
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bark — to shout
  6. net — for catching
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. court — of law
  9. can — a tin
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. court — of a king
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pitch — completely
  17. can — to be able to
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. capital — money
  20. net — after costs
  21. game — a match
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. capital — a city
  24. calf — a young animal

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