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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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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: fork · wind · capital · wound · bark · board · arm · kick

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. wound — an injury
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. kick — in football
  9. fork — in a road
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. board — to get on
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wound — an injury
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. capital — money
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. board — a committee
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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