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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 · board · race · capital · kid · track · stem · jam

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. kid — child
  4. board — to get on
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. stem — to come from
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. kid — to tease
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. track — a song
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. board — a committee
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — the arms race
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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