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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. capital — a city
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. net — in sport
  6. capital — money
  7. rest — a break
  8. net — after costs
  9. hand — in cards
  10. content — happy
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stand — to bear
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. content — the amount
  15. mate — to breed
  16. net — for catching
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rest — what's left
  24. content — videos and posts

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