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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 120 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: coach · ball · march · racket · spring · scale · capital · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. scale — in music
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. ball — a dance
  6. march — music
  7. spring — the season
  8. ball — a great time
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. capital — a city
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. march — the month
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. march — the month
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. capital — money
  22. scale — size or range
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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