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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
468
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: object · game · capital · leaves · patient · coach · field · swing

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. capital — a city
  3. object — to protest
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. game — a match
  6. field — farmland
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. swing — in golf
  9. object — a thing
  10. swing — music
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. field — for sport
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. object — an aim
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. capital — money
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. field — a subject
  21. swing — to play on
  22. game — wild animals
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. game — a kind of play

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