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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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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 · deal · bore · band · straw · patient · kick · wax

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to tire
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. capital — money
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bore — to drill
  16. band — a ring
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. deal — to handle
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. band — a music group

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