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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mark — a trace
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. spring — the season
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spring — of water
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bass — low music
  13. mark — a grade
  14. capital — money
  15. fall — the season
  16. bass — the fish
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. fall — to drop
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. dip — to sink
  24. patient — a sick person

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