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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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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: patient · swing · capital · rash · stick · kid

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. swing — to play on
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rash — a series
  9. swing — music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rash — hasty
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. kid — child
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. swing — in golf

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