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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. 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. mouse — for a computer
  2. cold — an illness
  3. capital — money
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. deal — to handle
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chest — a box
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — for a lock
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. chest — of your body
  17. key — in music
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chest — of your body
  21. march — the month
  22. capital — a city
  23. march — music
  24. 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