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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 116 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: bass · bore · ruler · capital · tube · mine · stock · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bore — to tire
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bass — the fish
  8. capital — a city
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — low music
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. capital — money
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. stock — shares
  20. tube — a container
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bark — to shout
  24. stock — goods

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