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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. capital — money
  3. dip — to sink
  4. field — farmland
  5. mug — a face
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — a city
  12. ball — a dance
  13. field — a subject
  14. pass — a permit
  15. ball — a great time
  16. mug — to rob
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. field — for sport
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. wind — moving air
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. mug — a cup

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