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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. 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. racket — for tennis
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. capital — a city
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. capital — money
  9. band — a ring
  10. shower — rain
  11. lie — to recline
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. shower — to wash
  17. band — a music group
  18. 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