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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: bark · bat · ground · cap · net · bay · spring · band

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. net — after costs
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cap — a hat
  6. spring — the season
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. spring — of water
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ground — a position
  14. net — for catching
  15. band — a ring
  16. spring — a coil
  17. net — in sport
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. band — a music group
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bat — in an idiom

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