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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. rash — hasty
  4. swing — in golf
  5. capital — money
  6. hand — in cards
  7. plane — a tool
  8. can — to be able to
  9. hand — help
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — a series
  12. ball — a great time
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. swing — music
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. can — a tin
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. can — a tin
  21. ball — a dance
  22. swing — to play on
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. capital — a big letter

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