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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. capital — money
  3. mark — a grade
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. mark — a trace
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. game — wild animals
  8. capital — a city
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. sharp — clever
  15. craft — boats
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. field — farmland
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. craft — a skill
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — to shout

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