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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.

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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: court · lash · present · bark · stem · capital · bank · band

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. present — there
  7. bark — to shout
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. present — a gift
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — of a river
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. court — for sport
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. court — of law
  19. bank — for money
  20. capital — a city
  21. band — a music group
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. capital — money
  24. present — the time now

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