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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.

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: band · patient · mine · stand · content · capital · prune · cabinet

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. band — a ring
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. content — happy
  16. capital — a city
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — to bear
  20. content — the amount
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. band — a music group
  23. prune — to trim
  24. capital — money

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