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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — a city
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. spring — the season
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. suit — to fit
  10. spring — of water
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. spring — a coil
  14. suit — in cards
  15. capital — money
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. suit — clothes
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kid — to tease
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. snap — to click

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