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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. row — a line
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. date — the fruit
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. rule — a law
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. rule — government
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. kick — in football
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. capital — money
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. row — to paddle
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. toast — bread

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