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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: bark · clip · stand · content · bear · capital · wave · march

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. content — the amount
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. march — music
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. clip — to cut
  10. capital — a city
  11. clip — a video
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. capital — money
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. march — the month
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bear — the 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