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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mark — a grade
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. bound — obliged
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. branch — a division
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. mark — a trace
  14. bound — tied together
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. capital — a city
  21. bound — certain
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — not warm
  24. trunk — of a tree

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