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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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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to 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. drill — the tool
  3. drill — army training
  4. cue — a signal
  5. wound — an injury
  6. capital — a city
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. ground — a position
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. ground — crushed
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cue — for pool
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. cue — a hint
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. ground — the earth
  24. patient — a sick person

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