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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 · tube · press · bark · chest · rule

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. tube — a container
  11. bark — to shout
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rule — government
  14. tube — the underground
  15. press — newspapers
  16. chest — a box
  17. rule — a law
  18. press — to push

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