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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. hand — help
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bat — the animal
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. fall — to drop
  9. file — a tool
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. hand — in cards
  12. club — a group
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. file — a document
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. capital — money
  20. file — a line of people
  21. club — for golf
  22. fall — the season
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. club — for dancing

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