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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 120 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: fine · bark · game · hide · pass · row · field · capital

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. field — a subject
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. capital — a city
  5. row — a line
  6. fine — high quality
  7. field — farmland
  8. row — to paddle
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. capital — money
  11. fine — all right
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. game — a match
  16. pass — a permit
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. field — for sport
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bark — to shout
  24. pass — to spend time

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