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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mug — a face
  4. mug — to rob
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wound — an injury
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mug — a cup
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. last — final
  24. game — a match

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