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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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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: hand · net · chair · capital · pitch · bark · bore · ball

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pitch — completely
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. ball — a great time
  5. net — for catching
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bore — to tire
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. hand — help
  10. capital — money
  11. chair — a leader
  12. capital — a city
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. hand — in cards
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. net — after costs
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. net — in sport
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. ball — a dance

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