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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: can · chip · wind · bark · capital · bear · land · chest

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — the animal
  3. capital — money
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. bark — to shout
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — a box
  16. wind — moving air
  17. capital — a city
  18. chip — for betting
  19. chip — to eat
  20. land — a country
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. can — a tin

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