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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: present · ground · patient · cap · craft · season · spring · capital

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. season — of the year
  3. spring — a coil
  4. ground — the earth
  5. craft — boats
  6. season — in sport
  7. cap — a hat
  8. ground — crushed
  9. spring — the season
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a city
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. present — the time now
  18. craft — a skill
  19. spring — of water
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. cap — a lid
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ground — a position

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