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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cell — a phone
  3. charge — in control
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bore — to tire
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — a price
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cap — a hat
  14. root — of a word
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. root — the cause
  17. capital — a city
  18. cap — a lid
  19. capital — money
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — in biology
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. root — of a plant

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