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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. capital — a city
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mate — to breed
  6. capital — money
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rest — a break
  10. mate — a partner
  11. prune — to trim
  12. march — the month
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rest — what's left
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. march — music
  19. mate — a friend
  20. march — the month
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. patient — a sick person

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