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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. capital — a city
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. field — a subject
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bound — certain
  11. current — electric
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bound — tied together
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. current — of water
  18. kid — child
  19. current — happening now
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. bound — obliged
  22. capital — money
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. patient — a sick person

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