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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. pass — a permit
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. staff — a stick
  6. court — for sport
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. rash — hasty
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. staff — employees
  12. capital — a city
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — of law
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. capital — money
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. staff — employees
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — to eat

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