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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 ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. present — there
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. capital — money
  6. spring — the season
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. tube — a container
  9. present — a gift
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. tear — to rip
  14. shower — rain
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. present — the time now
  18. tube — the underground
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. shower — to wash
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. capital — a city

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