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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: bark · present · capital · firm · court · rule

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. present — a gift
  3. court — of a king
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. firm — decided
  7. rule — government
  8. rule — a law
  9. capital — a city
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. firm — a company
  13. present — there
  14. capital — money
  15. present — the time now
  16. court — of law
  17. court — for sport
  18. bark — to shout

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