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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. content — the amount
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. drill — a practice
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitch — completely
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — a stick
  15. capital — money
  16. shower — rain
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. drill — the tool
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — to wash
  22. drill — army training
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. content — happy

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