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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. capital — a city
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bear — the animal
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. bear — the animal
  8. court — for sport
  9. last — to go on
  10. capital — money
  11. court — of a king
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bass — low music
  18. court — of law
  19. last — final
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. file — a document
  23. last — finally
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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