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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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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 · cap · row · kick · capital · chip

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. cap — a lid
  3. capital — money
  4. row — a line
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chip — to eat
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bark — to shout
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. row — to paddle
  17. cap — of ice
  18. chip — for betting

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