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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. can — to be able to
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. capital — a city
  7. bore — to drill
  8. mine — for digging
  9. swing — to play on
  10. can — a tin
  11. bore — to tire
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. swing — music
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. can — a tin
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rock — music
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rock — a stone
  23. swing — in golf
  24. capital — money

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