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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 · bank · roll · bark · spell · dip · content · wind

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bark — to shout
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. wind — moving air
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. dip — to sink
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. content — the amount
  14. spell — letters
  15. content — happy
  16. roll — a list
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bank — of a river
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bank — for money
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bank — for money
  24. wind — moving air

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