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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. net — for catching
  4. prune — to trim
  5. capital — a city
  6. net — in sport
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. drill — a practice
  10. capital — money
  11. drill — army training
  12. wake — a trail
  13. drill — the tool
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. pound — a weight
  16. root — of a word
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. net — after costs
  21. root — of a plant
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. root — the cause
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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