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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: shower · patient · charge · season · capital · board · hand · fine

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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. hand — part of the body
  2. board — a committee
  3. hand — in cards
  4. board — to get on
  5. capital — money
  6. shower — to wash
  7. fine — all right
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. charge — in control
  10. fine — high quality
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. charge — a price
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. season — of the year
  17. shower — rain
  18. charge — electricity
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. capital — a city
  21. hand — help
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. season — in sport
  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