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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. sharp — clever
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. mark — a trace
  8. track — a song
  9. mark — a grade
  10. track — a path
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. track — to keep track
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. capital — money
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. rash — a series
  24. sharp — with an edge

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