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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wake · bark · capital · bowl · spell · scale · stick · net

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. net — after costs
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spell — letters
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — in music
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. wake — a trail
  14. spell — magic
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. spell — a short time
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — in sport
  21. bark — to shout
  22. capital — a city
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. capital — money

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