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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.

Make a worksheet

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: capital · craft · patient · band · row · racket · spell · scale

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. scale — size or range
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. craft — a skill
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. scale — in music
  11. craft — boats
  12. row — to paddle
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. spell — a short time
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. capital — money
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. row — a line
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. spell — magic
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. spell — letters
  24. racket — for tennis

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