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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: suit · land · nail · hand · rest · squash · patient · capital

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. suit — clothes
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rest — what's left
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. hand — in cards
  11. capital — money
  12. land — to come down
  13. hand — help
  14. rest — what's left
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rest — a break
  17. squash — the sport
  18. suit — to fit
  19. land — ground
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. suit — in cards
  22. land — a country
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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