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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. bore — to tire
  5. can — to be able to
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bore — to drill
  14. march — music
  15. season — of the year
  16. can — a tin
  17. shower — rain
  18. march — the month
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. snap — to click
  23. march — the month
  24. capital — a city

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