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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: capital · patient · race · pound · rock · mine · last · drill

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pound — a weight
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mine — for digging
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. last — to go on
  8. capital — money
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. drill — a practice
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. race — a contest
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. drill — the tool
  16. rock — a stone
  17. race — humankind
  18. capital — a city
  19. race — the arms race
  20. last — final
  21. drill — army training
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. last — finally
  24. rock — to move gently

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