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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — there
  4. club — for dancing
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mate — to breed
  7. foot — a measure
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mate — a friend
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. club — a group
  13. capital — money
  14. chest — of your body
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chest — a box
  17. club — for golf
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. capital — a city
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bat — the animal
  23. present — the time now
  24. patient — a sick person

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