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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: racket · capital · wound · bark · drill · calf · chest · pop

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. chest — a box
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pop — soda
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chest — of your body
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pop — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — a practice
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bark — to shout
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. racket — for tennis

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