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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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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: racket · object · patient · capital · kid · row · pop · bulb

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. kid — child
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. object — a thing
  6. pop — soda
  7. object — to protest
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. capital — money
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pop — to visit
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. capital — a city
  16. kid — to tease
  17. row — to paddle
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pop — music
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — for light
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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