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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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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 · court · stem · band · rest · mouse · capital · snap

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — money
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rest — what's left
  9. stem — to come from
  10. band — a ring
  11. capital — a city
  12. band — a music group
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. court — of a king
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. snap — to click
  20. rest — a break
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. rest — what's left
  24. stem — a stem cell

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