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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: wind · capital · patient · board · can · cell

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. cell — a phone
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. board — a committee
  10. can — a tin
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — in biology
  13. capital — a city
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. board — to get on
  16. can — a tin
  17. wind — moving air
  18. patient — a sick person

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