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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tube — a container
  3. capital — money
  4. cap — a hat
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. tube — the underground
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. capital — a city
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. shower — rain
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. chair — a leader
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — of ice
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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