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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bat — the animal
  7. court — for sport
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bound — certain
  10. capital — money
  11. prune — to trim
  12. capital — a city
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. key — for a lock
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bound — obliged
  18. court — of a king
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. court — of law
  21. key — in music
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — a permit

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