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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. swing — to play on
  3. mug — to rob
  4. capital — money
  5. spring — the season
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. mug — a face
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. track — a song
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. track — a path
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. mug — a cup
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. spring — of water
  19. track — to keep track
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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