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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: wind · rule · bark · court · calf · capital

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. capital — money
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rule — government
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. capital — a city
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. court — for sport
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. rule — a law
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. calf — a young animal

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