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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · wake · coach · patient · lean · pitch · capital · bulb

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bulb — for light
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wake — a trail
  9. lean — thin
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. pitch — completely
  12. capital — a city
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bulb — for light
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. lean — to bend
  24. coach — a trainer

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