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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: row · patient · spring · capital · kick · suit · chip · file

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. spring — of water
  2. row — a line
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. suit — clothes
  7. kick — in football
  8. spring — a coil
  9. suit — to fit
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. file — a tool
  12. chip — for betting
  13. capital — a city
  14. row — to paddle
  15. spring — the season
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. suit — in cards
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. chip — to eat
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  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