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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: club · can · capital · patient · spring · chair · rest · branch

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. club — for dancing
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. can — to be able to
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. club — a group
  8. capital — money
  9. club — for golf
  10. rest — a break
  11. spring — of water
  12. can — a tin
  13. spring — the season
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rest — what's left
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — a city
  19. branch — a division
  20. chair — a leader
  21. can — a tin
  22. rest — what's left
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. patient — a sick person

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