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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: cap · press · bark · capital · swing · arm

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. bark — to shout
  3. swing — to play on
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. swing — music
  7. cap — a lid
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. swing — in golf
  12. press — to push
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. cap — a hat
  18. cap — of ice

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