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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: deal · fork · patient · pound · spell · capital · rule · pop

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. pound — a weight
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. spell — letters
  6. capital — a city
  7. rule — government
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. pop — to visit
  12. rule — a law
  13. pop — music
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pop — soda
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. fork — in a road
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. capital — a big letter

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