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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. key — for a lock
  5. rush — hurry
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. face — to point toward
  8. key — the most important part
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pop — soda
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. pop — to visit
  14. hand — in cards
  15. face — to confront
  16. hand — help
  17. capital — a city
  18. pop — music
  19. mate — to breed
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. face — part of the head
  22. key — in music
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — a friend

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