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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 · straw · hide · rest · game · deal · bark

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bark — to shout
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. game — a match
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. rest — what's left
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. deal — to handle
  14. field — for sport
  15. capital — money
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. rest — a break
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. rest — what's left
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. game — wild animals
  23. capital — a city
  24. straw — dry grass

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