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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: wind · chest · hand · temple · plane · capital · present · patient

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. capital — a city
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. chest — of your body
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. wind — moving air
  8. plane — a tool
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chest — of your body
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. capital — money
  14. chest — a box
  15. present — the time now
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. hand — in cards
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. wind — moving air
  22. present — a gift
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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