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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: suit · hand · patient · cold · capital · current · toast · bat

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. suit — clothes
  3. cold — an illness
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. hand — in cards
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. bat — the animal
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. capital — money
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. suit — in cards
  17. current — happening now
  18. toast — bread
  19. hand — help
  20. capital — a city
  21. current — electric
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. suit — to fit
  24. cold — not warm

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