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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.

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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 · pop · bore · cell · sharp · bark · fork

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. capital — a city
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pop — music
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cell — in biology
  14. pop — soda
  15. capital — money
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pop — to visit
  21. cell — a phone
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bore — to drill
  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