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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
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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: wind · capital · patient · pitcher · can · season · fine · calf

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. can — to be able to
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. fine — high quality
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. can — a tin
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fine — all right
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. capital — a city
  23. can — a tin
  24. calf — of the leg

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