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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.

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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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Word bank
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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. rash — hasty
  9. content — happy
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. capital — a city
  13. present — there
  14. present — the time now
  15. prune — to trim
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rash — a series
  18. content — the amount
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. prune — to trim
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. capital — money
  24. present — a gift

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