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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 · season · root · squash · capital · wax · hand · sharp

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. sharp — clever
  3. root — the cause
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. hand — in cards
  9. capital — a city
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. capital — money
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. season — of the year
  14. root — of a plant
  15. season — in sport
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. squash — to crush
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. hand — help
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. root — of a word
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wax — to grow

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