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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: file · capital · patient · ball · cold · key · drill · bark

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. drill — army training
  2. key — in music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. drill — the tool
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. capital — a city
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ball — a dance
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. key — the most important part
  17. file — a tool
  18. drill — a practice
  19. file — a document
  20. cold — an illness
  21. file — a line of people
  22. key — for a lock
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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