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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. capital — a city
  4. rock — music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. march — the month
  9. wind — moving air
  10. march — music
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. key — in music
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. key — for a lock
  20. key — the most important part
  21. capital — money
  22. rock — a stone
  23. vault — a safe
  24. march — the month

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