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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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — money
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. season — of the year
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. capital — a city
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. land — ground
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. season — in sport
  20. land — a country
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. land — to come down
  23. field — a subject
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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