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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. can — a tin
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cold — an illness
  5. squash — the sport
  6. capital — money
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. can — to be able to
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. can — a tin
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. chair — a leader
  17. season — of the year
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. hand — help
  20. squash — to crush
  21. capital — a city
  22. season — in sport
  23. hand — in cards
  24. capital — a big letter

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