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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: bay · capital · cue · trunk · hand · cell · mate · patient

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cue — for pool
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. cell — a phone
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cue — a signal
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. capital — a city
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hand — help
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. mate — to breed
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. cue — a hint
  22. capital — money
  23. mate — a friend
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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