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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pop — to visit
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rash — a series
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mate — to breed
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. hand — help
  13. pop — soda
  14. mate — a friend
  15. pop — music
  16. mate — a partner
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. capital — money
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. rash — hasty
  24. capital — a city

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