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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: fan · trunk · net · capital · stick · mate · content · patient

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. content — happy
  3. net — for catching
  4. content — the amount
  5. mate — to breed
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. mate — a friend
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mate — a partner
  11. net — in sport
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. net — after costs
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. capital — money
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. capital — a city
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. content — videos and posts

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