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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. hand — in cards
  4. net — in sport
  5. capital — money
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. hand — help
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. net — for catching
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. degree — temperature
  17. net — after costs
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stand — to bear
  20. capital — a city
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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