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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: bark · patient · scale · staff · kid · calf · capital · nail

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. staff — a stick
  7. capital — money
  8. staff — employees
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. scale — in music
  12. staff — employees
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. capital — a city
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bark — to shout
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. scale — size or range
  22. kid — to tease
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. scale — for weighing

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