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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. court — for sport
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. court — of a king
  7. fall — the season
  8. board — to get on
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. content — happy
  11. fall — to drop
  12. content — the amount
  13. can — a tin
  14. court — of law
  15. can — to be able to
  16. capital — money
  17. fall — to drop
  18. board — a committee
  19. can — a tin
  20. drill — army training
  21. capital — a city
  22. drill — a practice
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. patient — a sick person

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