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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bass — the fish
  7. board — a committee
  8. shower — rain
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. capital — money
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tear — to rip
  16. capital — a city
  17. shower — to wash
  18. board — to get on
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wax — in the ear

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