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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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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: straw · arm · pass · bay · bark · field · drill · capital

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. field — a subject
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. capital — money
  6. field — for sport
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — a permit
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. capital — a city
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. field — farmland
  24. drill — army training

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