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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: patient · capital · board · fine · wake · vault · cell · shower

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. vault — a safe
  4. capital — money
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. wake — a trail
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. cell — a phone
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. fine — high quality
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fine — all right
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. capital — a city
  23. shower — rain
  24. fine — a penalty

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