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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.

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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: deal · tube · bark · key · pit · capital · field · kid

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. field — farmland
  3. capital — a city
  4. field — for sport
  5. tube — the underground
  6. kid — to tease
  7. tube — a container
  8. pit — in a race
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bark — to shout
  14. capital — money
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. key — in music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. kid — child
  21. field — a subject
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. key — the most important part

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