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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. capital — a big letter
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pop — soda
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rash — a series
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pop — to visit
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pop — music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — a city
  22. date — the fruit
  23. patient — a sick person
  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