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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 116 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: capital · patient · race · pound · rock · mine

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. race — the arms race
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. race — a contest
  9. mine — for digging
  10. race — humankind
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. capital — a city
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rock — music
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. capital — money
  17. rock — a stone
  18. pound — to hit hard

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