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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 120 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. march — the month
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. degree — an amount
  10. current — electric
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. march — the month
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. current — of water
  19. current — happening now
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stem — to come from
  22. march — music
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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