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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. row — a line
  6. lean — to bend
  7. rush — hurry
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. capital — a city
  10. lean — thin
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pound — a weight
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. capital — money
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. bat — the animal

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