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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pop — to visit
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. pound — a weight
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. pop — soda
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pop — music
  17. rash — hasty
  18. lie — to recline
  19. band — a ring
  20. rash — a series
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. band — a music group

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