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

Word bank: capital · bowl · chest · net · degree · row · bark · lie

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. net — in sport
  3. capital — a city
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chest — of your body
  9. capital — money
  10. chest — a box
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. net — after costs
  13. bark — to shout
  14. row — a line
  15. net — for catching
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. degree — temperature
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. degree — from a university

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