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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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468
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: coach · foot · bark · swing · bat · spell · ruler · capital

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. swing — music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. capital — a city
  7. spell — magic
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. foot — a measure
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. spell — a short time
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. spell — letters
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. capital — money
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. swing — to play on

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