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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.

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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. capital — money
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. field — farmland
  6. ground — crushed
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. capital — a city
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. ground — a position
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. field — a subject
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bark — to shout
  19. field — for sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pit — a hole
  24. capital — a big letter

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