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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: bark · capital · row · club · firm · chip

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. firm — a company
  3. bark — to shout
  4. capital — money
  5. chip — to eat
  6. firm — decided
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. capital — a city
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — a group
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. row — a line
  16. chip — for betting
  17. row — to paddle
  18. firm — steady

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