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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: craft · patient · mine · press · stem · shower · season · capital

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. capital — a city
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. shower — rain
  8. capital — money
  9. craft — a skill
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. craft — boats
  12. season — in sport
  13. press — newspapers
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. press — a publisher
  16. season — of the year
  17. press — to push
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mine — for digging
  24. stem — to come from

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