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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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. current — happening now
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. capital — a city
  12. bat — the animal
  13. capital — money
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. current — of water
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. current — electric
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — an illness
  24. patient — a sick person

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