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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 · chip · pit · row · arm · bark · stock · capital

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pit — in a race
  3. row — a line
  4. capital — money
  5. chip — to eat
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pit — a hole
  10. chip — for betting
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. bark — to shout
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. wake — a trail
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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