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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · pitcher · capital · bat · rash · kid · swing · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bat — the animal
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — in sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. capital — money
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. swing — music
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. net — for catching
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bark — to shout
  19. rash — a series
  20. swing — to play on
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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