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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 · fork · fan · fall · row · trunk · patient · coach

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fall — the season
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fall — to drop
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. capital — a city
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. fall — to drop
  20. row — a line
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. row — to paddle
  24. patient — a sick person

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