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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: bound · bark · swing · capital · prune · firm · chair · mark

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. bound — tied together
  5. firm — a company
  6. prune — to trim
  7. firm — steady
  8. capital — money
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. firm — decided
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mark — a grade
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bound — certain
  16. capital — a city
  17. swing — in golf
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. bound — obliged
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. swing — music
  24. bark — of a tree

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