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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. capital — money
  10. fine — high quality
  11. pound — a weight
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mine — for digging
  15. hand — help
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. clip — a video
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. fine — all right
  23. clip — for paper
  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