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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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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 · rule · chest · cell · mark · march · wave

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cell — in biology
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rule — a law
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. march — the month
  14. capital — a city
  15. mark — a trace
  16. march — music
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rule — government
  20. chest — a box
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cell — a phone
  23. march — the month
  24. capital — money

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