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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bass — low music
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rule — government
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. capital — money
  9. pop — music
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bass — the fish
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rule — a law
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. fall — to drop
  20. capital — a city
  21. pop — soda
  22. fall — the season
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. mine — for digging

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