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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rash — hasty
  4. capital — a city
  5. date — the fruit
  6. capital — money
  7. track — a song
  8. court — for sport
  9. track — a path
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. stem — to come from
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. court — of law
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. rash — a series
  22. court — of a king
  23. patient — a sick person
  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