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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.

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: wind · sharp · wave · mine · temple · capital · hand · patient

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. mine — for digging
  7. capital — a city
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. hand — help
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. capital — money
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wind — moving air

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