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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: fall · lash · file · swing · mark · bark · pitcher · capital

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. file — a document
  4. capital — money
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. capital — a city
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. file — a line of people
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. swing — music
  12. fall — to drop
  13. swing — to play on
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bark — to shout
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mark — a grade
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. fall — the season
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. file — a tool

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