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

Word bank: temple · capital · patient · drill · fork · chip · pound · tear

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  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. drill — army training
  2. drill — the tool
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chip — to eat
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. fork — in a road
  9. tear — from crying
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a city
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. tear — to rip
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. chip — for betting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pound — a weight
  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