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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 116 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: cap · march · pitcher · race · shower · patient · coach · capital

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — to wash
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. capital — money
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. capital — a city
  12. race — the arms race
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. race — a contest
  15. cap — a lid
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. march — the month
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. cap — of ice
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. march — music
  23. cap — a hat
  24. race — humankind

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