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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: lash · file · toast · bark · rash · kid · stock · capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. capital — a city
  2. bark — to shout
  3. capital — money
  4. rash — hasty
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stock — shares
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. file — a document
  16. rash — a series
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. stock — goods
  20. kid — child
  21. toast — bread
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. capital — a big letter
  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