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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fork — in a road
  4. capital — a city
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. fall — the season
  11. press — a publisher
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. swing — in golf
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. press — to push
  18. swing — music
  19. fall — to drop
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. press — newspapers
  24. capital — money

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