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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. capital — a city
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. rule — a law
  10. lean — to bend
  11. net — in sport
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — after costs
  15. wound — an injury
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. capital — money
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. rule — government
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. net — for catching

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