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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — tied together
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. capital — money
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bat — the animal
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bound — obliged
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. cell — a phone
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. kick — in football
  23. capital — a city
  24. kick — with a leg

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