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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: capital · date · squash · wave · bank · patient · tear · file

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. date — the fruit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. file — a document
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. bank — for money
  11. file — a tool
  12. squash — the sport
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. bank — for money
  18. tear — to rip
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. capital — money
  24. squash — to crush

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