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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: march · charge · nail · court · patient · row · spring · cap

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cap — a hat
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cap — of ice
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cap — a lid
  9. charge — electricity
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. march — the month
  13. row — to paddle
  14. court — for sport
  15. charge — in control
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. charge — a price
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. spring — the season
  24. nail — on a finger

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