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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. capital — a city
  3. fall — the season
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kid — child
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. capital — money
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. drill — the tool
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rock — music
  21. rock — a stone
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. fall — to drop

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