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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 116 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 very handy with a ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mine — for digging
  4. saw — the tool
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. spell — a short time
  9. capital — money
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spell — magic
  12. branch — a division
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mate — a partner
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. spell — letters
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. mate — a friend
  24. vault — a safe

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