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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. capital — money
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. mug — to rob
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. cold — not warm
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. bank — for money
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chest — a box
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. capital — a city
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mug — a cup
  22. bank — for money
  23. mug — a face
  24. bank — of a river

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