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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. capital — a city
  4. ball — a great time
  5. toast — bread
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. land — to come down
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. present — there
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. present — the time now
  15. content — happy
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. present — a gift
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. content — the amount
  21. ball — a dance
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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