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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: rule · lash · shower · field · capital · patient

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. capital — a city
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. field — a subject
  4. capital — money
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. shower — rain
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rule — government
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. shower — to wash
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. field — farmland
  15. rule — a law
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. field — for sport
  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