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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: suit · patient · bank · capital · tear · squash · mine · row

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. suit — to fit
  4. row — a line
  5. tear — from crying
  6. capital — a city
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. mine — for digging
  10. capital — money
  11. suit — in cards
  12. tear — to rip
  13. squash — to crush
  14. suit — clothes
  15. bank — for money
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. row — to paddle
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bank — for money
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bank — of a river

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