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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. squash — the sport
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. stem — to come from
  9. hand — in cards
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. hand — help
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stand — to bear
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. plane — a tool
  22. squash — to crush
  23. capital — money
  24. squash — the vegetable

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