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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 116 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: mark · kid · fall · bass · bark · stem · rock · capital

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. kid — child
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mark — a trace
  6. capital — money
  7. rock — music
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. capital — a city
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. mark — a grade
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rock — a stone
  18. stem — to come from
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. fall — the season
  23. bass — low music
  24. stem — of a plant

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