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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: bark · kid · arm · net · capital · lash · safe · court

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. court — of law
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. net — in sport
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. net — after costs
  11. kid — to tease
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. court — for sport
  17. capital — a city
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. court — of a king
  20. capital — money
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bark — to shout
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. net — for catching

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