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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. court — of a king
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. clip — to cut
  9. mine — for digging
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. capital — a city
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. charge — in control
  14. court — of law
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. capital — money
  18. clip — a video
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. charge — a price
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. clip — for paper
  24. court — for sport

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