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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: patient · stand · shower · rush · race · mate · capital · ball

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rush — hurry
  5. race — a contest
  6. shower — rain
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. race — humankind
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. capital — a city
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mate — to breed
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. capital — money
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. stand — to bear
  19. ball — a dance
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. mate — a partner
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. stand — for spectators

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