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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 116 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: clip · deal · firm · bark · net · wake · capital · ball

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. net — for catching
  3. capital — a city
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. firm — steady
  7. ball — a dance
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. capital — money
  10. firm — decided
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wake — a trail
  13. ball — a great time
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. clip — a video
  16. net — in sport
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. firm — a company
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. net — after costs
  23. clip — for paper
  24. deal — to handle

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