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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wound — an injury
  3. capital — a city
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. shower — to wash
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. degree — temperature
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — a safe
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. game — wild animals
  16. suit — to fit
  17. degree — from a university
  18. suit — clothes
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — money
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. suit — in cards
  24. capital — a big letter

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