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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 120 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 · mate · bay · last · stock · patient · bulb · spell

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. capital — money
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bulb — for light
  7. capital — a city
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bulb — for light
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. mate — a partner
  14. stock — goods
  15. spell — letters
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. stock — shares
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. spell — magic
  23. mate — a friend
  24. last — finally

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