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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. rest — a break
  7. capital — money
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pit — in a race
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. bat — the animal
  19. pit — a hole
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. court — of law
  23. rest — what's left
  24. capital — a city

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