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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 116 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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. capital — a city
  7. pop — music
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pop — to visit
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. suit — in cards
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. suit — clothes
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stand — to bear
  19. capital — money
  20. pop — soda
  21. clip — for paper
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. saw — the tool
  24. suit — to fit

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