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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: wake · mine · wind · track · court · patient · capital · stand

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. capital — money
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. track — a song
  6. wake — a trail
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. court — of a king
  10. track — a path
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. capital — a city
  14. track — to keep track
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. court — for sport
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. court — of law
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — for digging

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