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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: bark · swing · capital · rock · shower · stick · chip · lean

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. capital — money
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. lean — thin
  12. rock — music
  13. swing — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. shower — rain
  17. chip — to eat
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. capital — a city
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. chip — for betting
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. lean — to bend

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