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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · lash · land · patient · cap · capital · cold · stock

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. land — ground
  4. capital — a city
  5. key — in music
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. stock — goods
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. cold — not warm
  13. land — to come down
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. land — a country
  20. stock — shares
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. key — the most important part

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