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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: fan · pitcher · face · capital · stem · saw · board · patient

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. face — to point toward
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. board — a committee
  13. capital — money
  14. board — to get on
  15. capital — a city
  16. saw — the tool
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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