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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. capital — money
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — a city
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cap — of ice
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. cold — an illness

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