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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 116 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: patient · drill · root · capital · row · bark · racket · firm

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. root — the cause
  3. capital — a city
  4. drill — the tool
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. capital — money
  8. row — a line
  9. firm — steady
  10. drill — army training
  11. firm — a company
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bark — to shout
  19. root — of a word
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. drill — a practice
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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