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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: tube · mug · capital · hand · court · patient · board · hide

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. capital — money
  6. mug — a face
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. board — a committee
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. board — to get on
  12. mug — a cup
  13. court — of a king
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. capital — a city
  16. hand — help
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — a container
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. court — for sport
  22. mug — to rob
  23. hand — in cards
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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