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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: chest · rash · bark · race · capital · bank

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. capital — a city
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bank — of a river
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bark — to shout
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. chest — a box
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. race — humankind

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