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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. pass — a permit
  5. capital — a city
  6. fall — to drop
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fall — to drop
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. hand — help
  12. cue — a signal
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a hint
  16. fall — the season
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. fork — in a road
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. capital — money
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — to spend time

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