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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 help me carry this box?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. swing — in golf
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. hand — help
  8. swing — to play on
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. can — a tin
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. hand — in cards
  15. swing — music
  16. capital — a city
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. can — a tin
  20. pass — a permit
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — money

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