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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. capital — a city
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. net — after costs
  8. kid — to tease
  9. craft — boats
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. kid — child
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. mine — for digging
  16. board — a committee
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. capital — money
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. board — to get on
  21. craft — a skill
  22. net — in sport
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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