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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 120 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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. capital — money
  3. cap — of ice
  4. last — to go on
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — a short time
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. club — for golf
  10. spell — letters
  11. capital — a city
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. club — a group
  14. last — final
  15. kid — to tease
  16. club — for dancing
  17. last — finally
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. cap — a lid
  21. kid — child
  22. cap — a hat
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bat — the animal

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