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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: fall · rash · tube · capital · staff · rock · march · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rash — hasty
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. march — the month
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rash — a series
  14. rock — a stone
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rock — music
  17. tube — a container
  18. fall — the season
  19. march — the month
  20. fall — to drop
  21. staff — employees
  22. capital — a city
  23. march — music
  24. rash — on the skin

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