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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: ball · patient · snap · lash · file · capital · rush · season

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. capital — money
  3. file — a tool
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. season — in sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. file — a line of people
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. season — of the year
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. snap — to click
  21. file — a document
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. capital — a city

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