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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: fine · capital · pop · stem · lean · perch · spell · bark

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fine — all right
  3. capital — a city
  4. stem — to come from
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. fine — high quality
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — thin
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. spell — a short time
  13. perch — the fish
  14. spell — letters
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pop — music
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. capital — money
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. spell — magic

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