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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: patient · ball · bear · foot · chest · pound · capital · rash

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chest — of your body
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. chest — a box
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pound — a weight
  9. foot — a measure
  10. capital — a city
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bear — the animal
  15. ball — a dance
  16. capital — money
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rash — hasty
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rash — a series
  24. 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