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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: staff · rash · rock · bark · calf · rush · capital · spell

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rash — hasty
  3. capital — a city
  4. staff — employees
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. rush — hurry
  7. spell — a short time
  8. rash — a series
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. spell — letters
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. spell — magic
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bark — to shout
  17. staff — a stick
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. rock — music
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. calf — a young animal

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