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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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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. firm — a company
  3. stand — to bear
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. firm — decided
  7. land — a country
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. firm — steady
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. capital — money
  12. scale — in music
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. capital — a city
  15. scale — size or range
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. land — to come down
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. sharp — clever
  24. land — ground

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