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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rock — music
  3. court — for sport
  4. spring — a coil
  5. court — of a king
  6. rock — a stone
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spring — the season
  9. cap — a lid
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. cap — of ice
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. spring — of water
  15. cap — a hat
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. court — of law
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. hand — help
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — money

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