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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: safe · chair · capital · patient · bowl · mate · land · hand

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. mate — a friend
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. land — ground
  6. land — a country
  7. hand — in cards
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. hand — help
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. capital — a city
  16. land — to come down
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. capital — money
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bowl — to roll

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