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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: stock · capital · fan · foot · pitch · bark · spring · ruler

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. foot — a measure
  3. spring — a coil
  4. capital — a city
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. spring — the season
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. stock — goods
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stock — shares
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. pitch — completely
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. spring — of water

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