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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. capital — money
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — the animal
  13. vault — a safe
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cap — of ice
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. capital — a city
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cap — a hat

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