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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bound — certain
  4. season — in sport
  5. bound — tied together
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. rock — music
  9. bound — obliged
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. last — to go on
  15. land — a country
  16. capital — a city
  17. season — of the year
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. land — ground
  20. last — finally
  21. land — to come down
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rock — a stone
  24. last — final

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