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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 120 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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. race — the arms race
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. perch — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. lean — to bend
  9. rule — a law
  10. chest — a box
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. capital — a city
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. chest — of your body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rule — government
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  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