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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · wax · patient · file · charge · rush · capital · staff

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. 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. capital — a city
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. staff — a stick
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. file — a tool
  7. capital — money
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. charge — electricity
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. rush — hurry
  17. file — a line of people
  18. charge — in control
  19. charge — a price
  20. mine — for digging
  21. file — a document
  22. wax — to grow
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. 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