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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · rule · season · bark · net · dip · bat · capital

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rule — government
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. rule — a law
  6. net — for catching
  7. bat — the animal
  8. dip — to sink
  9. bark — to shout
  10. season — of the year
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. last — finally
  16. capital — money
  17. season — in sport
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. last — to go on
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. last — final
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. net — after costs

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