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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 116 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. current — happening now
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. current — electric
  7. capital — a city
  8. file — a tool
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. file — a line of people
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — to breed
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. file — a document
  18. capital — money
  19. mate — a partner
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wound — an injury
  23. current — of water
  24. lash — an eyelash

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