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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. capital — money
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — from a university
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. capital — a city
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. squash — to crush
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wind — moving air
  19. squash — the sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. field — farmland
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. field — for sport

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