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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a city
  7. staff — employees
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. staff — employees
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. staff — a stick
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. capital — a big letter

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