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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. capital — money
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. lean — thin
  6. bass — the fish
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. capital — a city
  11. band — a music group
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a ring
  16. saw — the tool
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. saw — the tool
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. lie — to recline
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — low music

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