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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — hasty
  3. capital — a city
  4. suit — to fit
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cold — an illness
  8. scale — in music
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pop — to visit
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. suit — clothes
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rash — a series
  15. cold — not warm
  16. clip — a video
  17. scale — size or range
  18. capital — money
  19. pop — soda
  20. suit — in cards
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. clip — to cut
  24. pop — music

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