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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. swing — music
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. capital — a city
  7. rash — hasty
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. march — music
  10. rash — a series
  11. capital — money
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bank — for money
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. scale — in music
  19. march — the month
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — for digging
  24. swing — to play on

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