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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · ruler · tear · pitcher · field · safe · bark · spell

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spell — magic
  7. field — farmland
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. capital — money
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. spell — letters
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — for sport

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