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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. craft — a skill
  5. last — final
  6. capital — a city
  7. last — to go on
  8. craft — boats
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. mine — for digging
  11. last — finally
  12. capital — money
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wave — of the sea

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