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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: perch · lash · capital · pound · bark · mine · scale · racket

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. scale — in music
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — money
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bark — to shout
  11. pound — a weight
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. perch — the fish
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. scale — size or range

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