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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: capital · bound · bark · lie · fall · stock · tube · mouse

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. bound — certain
  4. capital — a city
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. stock — goods
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. capital — money
  11. bark — to shout
  12. lie — to recline
  13. stock — shares
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. tube — the underground
  17. fall — the season
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. tube — a container
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bark — of a tree
  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