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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: fine · scale · capital · fall · wind · pass · patient · bark

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pass — a permit
  3. capital — a city
  4. fine — all right
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bark — to shout
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. scale — size or range
  13. fall — to drop
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — high quality
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. fall — the season

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