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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: patient · bark · march · capital · present · rule · saw · ground

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. present — a gift
  4. march — the month
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rule — government
  7. present — the time now
  8. ground — crushed
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. capital — a city
  11. rule — a law
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. ground — a position
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. march — music
  19. ground — the earth
  20. present — there
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. saw — the tool
  23. march — the month
  24. bark — to shout

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