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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.

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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: mate · plane · lash · capital · scale · pit · cold · patient

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mate — a friend
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. scale — in music
  10. pit — a hole
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. pit — in a race
  14. plane — a tool
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. cold — not warm
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. capital — a city
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. scale — size or range
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cold — an illness

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