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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 · capital · spell · coach · bat · shower · pop · fine

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pop — soda
  6. bat — the animal
  7. spell — letters
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. pop — to visit
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. shower — rain
  14. spell — magic
  15. capital — a city
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. shower — to wash
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pop — music
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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