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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 116 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
468
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 · pass · patient · mate · fall · lash · hand · mine

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mate — a partner
  6. fall — the season
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. hand — in cards
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fall — to drop
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. mate — to breed
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. pass — a permit
  19. mate — a friend
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. hand — part of the body

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