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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 120 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: bark · lean · foot · content · capital · chair · rush · cabinet

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. chair — a leader
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bark — to shout
  6. lean — thin
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. content — the amount
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — a city
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. content — happy
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. foot — a measure
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. rush — to hurry

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