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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. scale — size or range
  3. drill — a practice
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. fall — the season
  6. lean — thin
  7. drill — the tool
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. scale — in music
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. capital — a city
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. capital — money
  15. drill — army training
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. field — a subject
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. field — farmland
  24. lean — to bend

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