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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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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 · stem · deal · calf · mate · cabinet · capital · pound

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mate — a friend
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — money
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. mate — a partner
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. pound — a weight
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. mate — to breed
  17. capital — a city
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — to come from
  24. pound — for dogs

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