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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 120 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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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: patient · pound · squash · pitcher · capital · kick · saw · bark

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. squash — the sport
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. saw — the tool
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. kick — in football
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bark — to shout
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. pound — a weight
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. capital — money

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