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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.

Make a worksheet

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: swing · can · trunk · capital · plane · cold · patient · mine

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cold — an illness
  5. can — a tin
  6. cold — not warm
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. swing — music
  14. plane — a tool
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mine — for digging
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. swing — to play on
  24. swing — in golf

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