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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — to cut
  5. capital — a city
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. prune — to trim
  14. net — after costs
  15. deal — to handle
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. clip — a video
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. net — in sport
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pound — a weight
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. net — for catching

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