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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: capital · patient · march · pit · bulb · mug · rule · wind

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mug — a cup
  6. capital — a city
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mug — a face
  9. pit — in a race
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rule — a law
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. rule — government
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. mug — to rob
  19. march — music
  20. bulb — for light
  21. march — the month
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. capital — money
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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