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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.

Words on the sheet
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: temple · bark · capital · drill · swing · land · saw · patient

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bark — to shout
  4. swing — music
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. drill — a practice
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. capital — money
  9. drill — army training
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. capital — a city
  12. swing — in golf
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. land — to come down
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. saw — the tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. drill — the tool
  21. land — a country
  22. swing — to play on
  23. land — ground
  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