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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: wake · bark · suit · march · mug · field · capital · deal

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. suit — in cards
  3. suit — to fit
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. field — a subject
  6. mug — a face
  7. deal — to handle
  8. suit — clothes
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wake — a trail
  11. capital — money
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. march — music
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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