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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: chest · stem · mug · perch · bark · suit · capital · vault

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. suit — in cards
  7. capital — money
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. vault — a safe
  12. mug — to rob
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. mug — a face
  15. suit — to fit
  16. mug — a cup
  17. chest — a box
  18. suit — clothes
  19. capital — a city
  20. bark — to shout
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — to come from

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