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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ball — a great time
  4. charge — in control
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. craft — a skill
  7. drill — a practice
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. charge — electricity
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stem — to come from
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. capital — money
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. drill — the tool
  18. charge — a price
  19. craft — boats
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. ball — a dance
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. drill — army training
  24. patient — a sick person

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