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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. capital — a city
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. field — for sport
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. field — farmland
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. bark — to shout
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. field — a subject
  21. capital — money
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. ground — a position
  24. stand — to bear

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