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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: calf · field · shower · ruler · bark · pitch · pound · capital

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. capital — a city
  6. field — farmland
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. capital — money
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pitch — completely
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pound — a weight
  16. field — for sport
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. field — a subject
  21. bark — to shout
  22. shower — rain
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. calf — a young animal

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