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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. capital — a city
  3. charge — electricity
  4. craft — a skill
  5. rest — what's left
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. rest — a break
  9. wind — moving air
  10. charge — a price
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. craft — boats
  13. capital — money
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. rest — what's left
  17. face — part of the head
  18. wind — moving air
  19. face — to point toward
  20. charge — in control
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. face — to confront

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