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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: capital · cue · hand · court · patient · can · mouse · mine

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. can — a tin
  5. capital — a city
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mine — for digging
  10. hand — help
  11. cue — a hint
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. can — to be able to
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. court — of law
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. can — a tin
  18. cue — for pool
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. capital — money
  21. cue — a signal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hand — part of the body

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