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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: racket · file · capital · bark · patient · straw · content · key

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. file — a tool
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. key — in music
  7. content — the amount
  8. capital — money
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. file — a line of people
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. content — happy
  16. bark — to shout
  17. key — for a lock
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. file — a document
  23. key — the most important part
  24. capital — a city

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