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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: ground · kid · wound · capital · kick · ruler · can · bark

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. kick — in football
  5. ground — a position
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ground — crushed
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. capital — money
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. wound — an injury
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. kid — to tease
  17. can — a tin
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. ground — the earth
  20. kid — child
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ruler — for measuring

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