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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: rash · bark · craft · tube · chip · mine · spring · capital

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. capital — a city
  3. craft — a skill
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. spring — of water
  6. chip — for betting
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. capital — money
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. rash — a series
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. spring — a coil
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. craft — boats
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bark — to shout
  22. spring — the season
  23. mine — for digging
  24. tube — a container

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