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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: patient · board · key · march · snap · spell · cap · capital

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. key — in music
  3. cap — of ice
  4. key — the most important part
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cap — a lid
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. snap — to click
  12. key — for a lock
  13. march — the month
  14. spell — a short time
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. capital — a city
  18. spell — letters
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. cap — a hat
  21. march — the month
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. capital — money
  24. march — music

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