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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: game · season · prune · patient · mark · rock · stand · capital

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. rock — music
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. capital — a city
  7. mark — a trace
  8. capital — money
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stand — to bear
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mark — a grade
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. season — in sport
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rock — a stone
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. season — of the year
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. game — wild animals
  24. prune — to trim

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