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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: capital · row · racket · tear · press · bark

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. capital — a city
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. press — newspapers
  7. capital — money
  8. row — to paddle
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bark — to shout
  11. press — a publisher
  12. tear — from crying
  13. press — to push
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — a line
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. tear — to rip
  18. racket — for tennis

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