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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.

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: patient · wax · stick · firm · field · capital · fan · straw

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. firm — decided
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. firm — steady
  7. field — for sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. field — farmland
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wax — to grow
  19. capital — money
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. firm — a company
  23. field — a subject
  24. straw — a straw man

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