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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: bear · board · patient · cap · capital · pitcher · bound · cell

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. board — a committee
  11. cap — a lid
  12. capital — money
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. board — to get on
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bound — tied together
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bound — certain
  24. cap — a hat

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