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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. capital — money
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pit — a hole
  8. tear — to rip
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. hand — help
  11. tear — from crying
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. rule — a law
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. season — in sport
  23. pit — in a race
  24. rule — government

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