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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: mate · patient · capital · bulb · jam · track · hand · pop

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bulb — for light
  6. track — to keep track
  7. capital — money
  8. track — a path
  9. capital — a city
  10. mate — a friend
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. mate — to breed
  17. track — a song
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pop — music
  20. mate — a partner
  21. pop — soda
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. hand — help
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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