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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cap — a hat
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. chest — of your body
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. capital — money
  14. chest — a box
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. chest — of your body
  17. capital — a city
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. game — a match
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. safe — a strongbox

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