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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 · capital · mug · cap · club · bowl · cold · spell

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mug — a face
  3. spell — letters
  4. cold — not warm
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. mug — to rob
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cold — an illness
  12. capital — a city
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. club — a group
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spell — a short time
  18. club — for golf
  19. cap — of ice
  20. mug — a cup
  21. spell — magic
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. capital — money

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