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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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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: row · cold · patient · cabinet · wake · capital · present · pitch

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. row — a line
  6. present — the time now
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. capital — a city
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. present — there
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. pitch — completely
  22. capital — money
  23. present — a gift
  24. cold — not warm

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