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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.

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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: bear · capital · land · stock · bound · patient · bowl · nail

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. land — ground
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bear — the animal
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bound — obliged
  12. bound — certain
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. capital — money
  19. bear — the animal
  20. land — to come down
  21. bound — tied together
  22. land — a country
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bear — to put up with

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