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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: bound · cold · march · capital · pit · racket · mug · patient

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pit — a hole
  3. march — music
  4. bound — obliged
  5. pit — in a race
  6. capital — money
  7. bound — tied together
  8. march — the month
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bound — certain
  12. mug — a cup
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mug — to rob
  18. cold — an illness
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mug — a face
  23. capital — a city
  24. racket — for tennis

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