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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. drill — a practice
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. net — in sport
  7. cap — of ice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cap — a lid
  10. current — happening now
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. court — for sport
  16. capital — a city
  17. net — for catching
  18. court — of a king
  19. net — after costs
  20. current — electric
  21. drill — army training
  22. bark — to shout
  23. court — of law
  24. current — of water

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