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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · pitch · patient · wax · capital · cold · fork · bound

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — certain
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. capital — money
  14. pitch — completely
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. capital — a city
  22. cold — not warm
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bound — tied together

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