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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. court — for sport
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bound — tied together
  7. court — of a king
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. face — to confront
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bound — obliged
  17. court — of law
  18. capital — money
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bound — certain
  21. kid — child
  22. face — part of the head
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — for dogs

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