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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 · jam · sharp · swing · capital · drill · season · track

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. season — of the year
  6. sharp — clever
  7. drill — army training
  8. track — to keep track
  9. swing — in golf
  10. track — a song
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. track — a path
  14. swing — to play on
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. swing — music
  18. drill — the tool
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. capital — a city
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. drill — a practice
  24. jam — a tight spot

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