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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: patient · pass · squash · fine · object · capital · cold · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. capital — a city
  3. squash — to crush
  4. capital — money
  5. fine — all right
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. object — to protest
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. squash — the sport
  15. object — an aim
  16. pass — a permit
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — not warm
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. march — the month
  21. object — a thing
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fine — high quality

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