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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 120 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. root — the cause
  3. capital — a city
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — to bear
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fork — in a road
  9. spring — of water
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. bound — certain
  12. capital — money
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. spring — the season
  15. snap — to click
  16. bound — tied together
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. bound — obliged
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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