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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: patient · ground · nail · band · pitcher · capital · rush · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — a city
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. rush — hurry
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. capital — money
  14. band — a music group
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. ground — the earth
  17. band — a ring
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ground — a position

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