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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: season · cell · capital · firm · patient · rule

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. rule — a law
  3. cell — a phone
  4. capital — a city
  5. cell — in biology
  6. firm — steady
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. firm — a company
  9. season — of the year
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. firm — decided
  12. season — in sport
  13. capital — money
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting

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