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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 120 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: drill · capital · cue · patient · bark · field · foot · coach

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. drill — a practice
  3. field — farmland
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cue — a hint
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. capital — money
  11. field — a subject
  12. drill — army training
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. drill — the tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. cue — a signal
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. capital — a city
  20. foot — a measure
  21. cue — for pool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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