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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: patient · date · capital · staff · spring · swing · squash · chip

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. spring — a coil
  4. chip — for betting
  5. squash — the sport
  6. capital — money
  7. staff — employees
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. spring — of water
  11. capital — a city
  12. date — the fruit
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. squash — to crush
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. spring — the season
  17. swing — to play on
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. chip — to eat
  22. staff — a stick
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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