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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. swing — to play on
  3. court — of law
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. capital — a city
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. deal — to handle
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. capital — money
  10. swing — music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. court — for sport
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. court — of a king
  17. saw — the tool
  18. shower — rain
  19. swing — in golf
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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