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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. capital — a city
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. kid — child
  9. drill — a practice
  10. track — a path
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — a law
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. capital — money
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. track — a song
  19. kid — to tease
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. track — to keep track
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. patient — a sick person

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