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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 116 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: capital · field · race · patient · mate · lie · mouse · hand

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. field — a subject
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. field — farmland
  7. lie — to recline
  8. capital — a city
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. field — for sport
  14. mate — to breed
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — help
  17. capital — money
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — humankind
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — a friend
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. capital — a big letter

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