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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
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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: staff · wound · dip · spring · wind · file · capital · patient

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. file — a line of people
  6. staff — a stick
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. spring — the season
  9. capital — money
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. spring — a coil
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. wind — moving air
  14. file — a document
  15. dip — to sink
  16. staff — employees
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wound — an injury
  19. capital — a city
  20. staff — employees
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wound — an injury
  23. spring — of water
  24. file — a tool

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