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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. net — in sport
  7. present — a gift
  8. capital — a city
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bulb — for light
  11. net — for catching
  12. rest — a break
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bulb — for light
  21. net — after costs
  22. rest — what's left
  23. present — the time now
  24. capital — money

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