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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: plane · patient · mouse · cold · fall · net · safe · capital

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fall — to drop
  3. capital — money
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — an illness
  10. plane — a tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. net — in sport
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. fall — the season
  17. cold — not warm
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. capital — a city
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. safe — out of danger

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