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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 120 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: file · present · patient · capital · squash · board · shower · court

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. shower — to wash
  3. file — a document
  4. present — there
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. present — a gift
  7. shower — rain
  8. squash — the sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. court — for sport
  11. file — a line of people
  12. court — of a king
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. capital — a city
  16. court — of law
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. present — the time now
  19. squash — to crush
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. capital — money
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — to get on

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