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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rock — a stone
  3. staff — employees
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. rock — music
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cap — a hat
  10. capital — money
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cap — a lid
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. march — music
  18. cap — of ice
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. march — the month

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