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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. spring — the season
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. current — happening now
  5. press — to push
  6. cap — of ice
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. current — electric
  9. wound — an injury
  10. capital — money
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cap — a hat
  14. current — of water
  15. pound — a weight
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. spring — of water
  18. wound — an injury
  19. press — newspapers
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. press — a publisher
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. capital — a city
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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