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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 124 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: capital · field · bark · tear · last · court · season · fork

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. field — for sport
  3. fork — in a road
  4. court — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. tear — to rip
  7. court — of a king
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bark — to shout
  10. tear — from crying
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. field — farmland
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. capital — money
  19. season — of the year
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. capital — a city
  23. court — of law
  24. bark — of a tree

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