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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 · press · tear · bark · rash · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. tear — from crying
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. tear — to rip
  10. capital — money
  11. press — to push
  12. capital — a city
  13. kick — in football
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bark — to shout
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — a publisher

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