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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: patient · cold · capital · race · stand · root

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. root — of a plant
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. root — the cause
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. race — the arms race
  8. root — of a word
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. capital — a city
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. race — a contest
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. capital — money
  18. cold — not warm

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