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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: rash · bark · net · capital · nail · arm · field · bat

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. field — for sport
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bat — the animal
  24. capital — money

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