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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rush — hurry
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. face — to point toward
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. drill — army training
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a music group
  16. bound — certain
  17. band — a ring
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. scale — size or range
  20. drill — the tool
  21. scale — in music
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. capital — a city

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