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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — completely
  11. wind — moving air
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. drill — the tool
  20. net — after costs
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. drill — army training
  23. capital — a city
  24. bat — for baseball

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