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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: march · lean · patient · rush · bore · bark · pitch · capital

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. march — the month
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bore — to tire
  6. pitch — completely
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — thin
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. march — the month
  14. bark — to shout
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. march — music
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — gave birth

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