Multiple Meaning Words Spelling List 4th Grade

All 100 words

List 1: short words, two meanings 10

bark Dogs bark at squirrels on the tree bark.
bat A bat flew over my baseball bat.
fly The fly tried to fly out the window.
kind A kind girl asked what kind I wanted.
light My light backpack hung under the hall light.
park Park the car beside the city park.
right Turn right if my answer is right.
ring Ring the bell if you find my ring.
watch Watch the time on your new watch.
wave Wave to the surfer on that wave.

List 2: a thing and an action 10

duck Duck your head when the duck flies by.
rock Rock the baby beside the big gray rock.
roll Roll the dough for one more roll.
saw I saw him cut wood with a saw.
seal The seal watched me seal the envelope.
sink The soap will sink in the kitchen sink.
stamp Do not stamp on the postage stamp.
stick Stick the label on this wooden stick.
train We train our puppy beside the train tracks.
trip Do not trip on our class trip.

Show all 100 words (80 more)

List 3: two different things 10

bill The duck's bill pecked at the dollar bill.
club Our chess club found an old golf club.
date On that date I ate a sweet date.
jam A traffic jam made me drop the jam.
nail I broke a nail hammering in the nail.
palm A palm leaf rested on my open palm.
pen The pig in the pen chewed my pen.
pitcher The pitcher drank water from a glass pitcher.
trunk The elephant's trunk lifted the heavy trunk.
yard One yard of rope crossed the back yard.

List 4: more little words 10

can Can you carry this can of paint?
fall Acorns fall on our roof every fall.
fan A soccer fan cooled off with a fan.
foot The puppy, barely a foot tall, licked my foot.
last The last battery will not last long.
left She left her glove in the left pocket.
match He lit a match before the tennis match.
mine The gold from that mine is mine.
spring In spring the frogs spring from the pond.
well The old well still works well.

List 5: words from the classroom 10

figure Figure out which figure has five sides.
letter My letter began with a capital letter.
note Her note said to sing one high note.
point Point to the sharp point of the pencil.
pound Pound the dough that weighs one pound.
pupil Each pupil drew an eye with a pupil.
ruler The ruler measured his crown with a ruler.
scale Weigh the fish scale on the kitchen scale.
second The second runner lost by one second.
table The table of scores lay on the table.

List 6: outdoors and animals 10

crane A crane flew over the construction crane.
cricket A cricket chirped during the cricket match.
hatch The chicks will hatch near the cellar hatch.
iron Dad used the iron near the iron gate.
litter Pick up litter near the litter of kittens.
season Season the soup during the cold season.
squash Do not squash the squash in the bag.
stable The horse stable stood on stable ground.
swallow The swallow stopped to swallow a bug.
track Keep track of laps on the running track.

List 7: an action and something else 10

bowl Bowl a strike, then fill the bowl.
change Change your shirt and keep the change.
check Check the amount written on the check.
handle Can you handle the broken door handle?
hide Hide behind the tent of buffalo hide.
lean Lean on me while I cut the lean meat.
mean I did not mean to sound mean.
miss Miss the train and I will miss you.
steer Steer the cart around the brown steer.
tip A good tip: hold the brush near the tip.

List 8: words from school subjects 10

article My article says the word the is an article.
column Her newspaper column described a tall stone column.
current The current news is about an ocean current.
period Add a period before third period ends.
pitch Hum the same pitch, then pitch the tent.
plot The plot begins on a garden plot.
sentence The judge read the sentence in one sentence.
staff The music staff confused the office staff.
stage At this stage, the actors leave the stage.
volume Lower the volume, then measure the box's volume.

List 9: longer words 10

cabinet The president's cabinet met beside a file cabinet.
capital Name a capital city spelled with a capital B.
charge They charge a fee to charge your phone.
coach Our coach rode in a horse-drawn coach.
company Her company makes toys; we enjoy her company.
court The judge left court for the tennis court.
express Express your thanks on the express train.
general The general gave only a general answer.
novel Her novel had a novel ending.
patient The patient stayed patient in the waiting room.

List 10: a harder second meaning 10

interest The bank pays interest; frogs interest me.
organ One organ pumps blood; another organ plays music.
reflect Mirrors reflect light while I reflect on my day.
refrain Please refrain from singing the refrain.
register Register for class at the cash register.
solution My solution was to mix a salt solution.
strike Workers on strike watched lightning strike.
tablet She read a stone tablet on her tablet.
vault Vault over the bar; lock the bank vault.
vessel A blood vessel is not a sailing vessel.

How this list was compiled: The words, their order and the sentences are our own, and the grades are only our suggestion; no published list was copied. Every word was looked up on 9 October 2026 in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (ahdictionary.com), which defines both meanings used in the word's sentence and gives it one spelling and one pronunciation, and in Wiktionary (en.wiktionary.org, CC BY-SA 4.0). Words said two ways, such as wind, tear and bow, are left out because each word is read alone before its sentence. For sixteen words the test also knows a sound-alike with another spelling (right and write, check and cheque, capital and capitol): each pair is listed as homophones for American speech in Wiktionary and has the same first pronunciation in the American Heritage Dictionary. Rare words such as stich, and pairs that sound alike in some accents only, such as pen and pin, are not counted. Licence: own work

How it works

A bat flew over my baseball bat: that is the sentence read with bat. The 100 words run from bat, bark and ring for 4th grade to refrain, vessel and vault for 6th.

Read the full guide

Which lists fit 4th grade, 5th grade and grade 6

Lists 1 to 4 are short words most fourth graders already spell (duck, seal, pitcher, trunk); the work is telling the two meanings apart. Lists 5 to 7 suit 5th grade: classroom words (ruler, pupil, scale) and outdoor ones (crane, litter, swallow). Lists 8 to 10 suit grade 6, where the second meaning is the hard part. The grades are only our suggestion, and any list can be edited.

When a third word sounds the same

Some of the 100 also have a sound-alike with another spelling: right and write, ring and wring, check and cheque. Type the other one and the results say that the word sounds the same, then show the sentence.

Left out on purpose: words said two ways, such as wind, tear, bow and lead. A voice reads only one.
After the test, have students write one new sentence for each meaning of five words.

Questions and answers

What are multiple meaning words?

Words spelled and said the same way that mean different things: bat is a flying animal and a club for hitting a ball; bark is a dog's sound and a tree's covering. The American Heritage Dictionary calls such pairs homonyms and numbers their entries.

Which multiple meaning words fit 6th grade?

Lists 8 to 10: school-subject words (volume, sentence, period, pitch, plot, column, article, current, stage, staff), longer words such as cabinet, express and patient, and words whose second meaning is harder, such as refrain, vessel and vault.

Is it capital or capitol?

Capital is the city where a government sits, and also an upper-case letter. Capitol, with an o, is the building where lawmakers meet. List 9 reads Name a capital city spelled with a capital B, so capital is the answer.

Multiple Meaning Words Spelling List 4th Grade to 6th Grade