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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: wound · firm · pop · capital · bark · present · land · season

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. present — a gift
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. present — there
  7. wound — an injury
  8. firm — decided
  9. pop — soda
  10. capital — money
  11. season — in sport
  12. firm — steady
  13. pop — to visit
  14. wound — an injury
  15. season — of the year
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. capital — a city
  18. present — the time now
  19. pop — music
  20. firm — a company
  21. land — ground
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. land — a country

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