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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: staff · mark · wake · pop · wind · bark · capital · chip

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. staff — a stick
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. staff — employees
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. capital — a city
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pop — soda
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chip — to eat
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pop — music
  23. capital — money
  24. wind — moving air

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