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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: season · last · capital · mine · scale · bear · rush · bark

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mine — for digging
  5. scale — in music
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. season — in sport
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bear — the animal
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. last — to go on
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. last — finally
  18. capital — a city
  19. season — of the year
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. last — final
  23. rush — hurry
  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