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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: bay · rest · chest · mouse · bark · spring · capital · perch

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. rest — a break
  3. bark — to shout
  4. rest — what's left
  5. capital — a city
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. spring — of water
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. capital — money
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. perch — the fish
  23. spring — the season
  24. rest — what's left

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