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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 116 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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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 — a sick person
  3. band — a music group
  4. ground — the earth
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. prune — to trim
  7. key — for a lock
  8. key — in music
  9. present — there
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. prune — to trim
  12. band — a ring
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. present — the time now
  18. capital — a city
  19. ground — a position
  20. key — the most important part
  21. ground — crushed
  22. present — a gift
  23. stock — a soup base
  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