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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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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: chair · capital · stem · bark · track · press · wind · vault

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. track — to keep track
  3. capital — a city
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wind — moving air
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. capital — money
  10. bark — to shout
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chair — a leader
  13. track — a path
  14. press — a publisher
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. track — a song
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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