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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. march — the month
  3. kick — in football
  4. plane — a tool
  5. rush — hurry
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. march — the month
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. capital — money
  12. content — happy
  13. content — the amount
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bat — the animal
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. march — music
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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