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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: spring · bowl · patient · capital · coach · racket · sharp · bore

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. capital — money
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bore — to drill
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. spring — of water
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. spring — the season
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. capital — a city
  24. bore — to tire

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