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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. rule — a law
  10. roll — a cake
  11. capital — a city
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — a division
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. snap — to click
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. capital — money
  23. roll — a list
  24. rule — government

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