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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: capital · snap · row · patient · last · rush · bark · drill

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. snap — to click
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. rush — hurry
  5. drill — the tool
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bark — to shout
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. row — a line
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. drill — army training
  15. capital — money
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. drill — a practice
  23. last — to go on
  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