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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 · land · capital · cap · present · fan · kick · stem

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. capital — a city
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. present — there
  5. cap — a hat
  6. stem — to come from
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. capital — money
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cap — a lid
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. present — the time now
  24. kick — in football

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