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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. bay — a part of the sea
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. capital — money
  4. season — in sport
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. degree — temperature
  11. capital — a city
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. degree — an amount
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. last — finally
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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