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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: mine · capital · bear · date · bark · fall · wave · arm

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bark — to shout
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. fall — the season
  6. date — the fruit
  7. capital — money
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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