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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. net — in sport
  3. cap — a hat
  4. net — for catching
  5. march — music
  6. swing — music
  7. staff — employees
  8. march — the month
  9. capital — money
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. net — after costs
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. staff — employees
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cap — of ice
  17. swing — to play on
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cell — in biology
  20. march — the month
  21. staff — a stick
  22. swing — in golf
  23. capital — a city
  24. cell — in a prison

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