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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. game — a match
  3. capital — a city
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rest — what's left
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. shower — rain
  13. capital — money
  14. rest — what's left
  15. game — wild animals
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rest — a break
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bulb — for light
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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