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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. hand — help
  7. cap — a lid
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cap — of ice
  10. land — to come down
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. land — a country
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. race — humankind
  17. cap — a hat
  18. race — the arms race
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — a law
  21. hand — in cards
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a city
  24. race — a contest

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