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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. court — for sport
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. can — a tin
  7. capital — money
  8. root — of a plant
  9. field — a subject
  10. cell — a phone
  11. root — of a word
  12. field — farmland
  13. court — of law
  14. root — the cause
  15. can — a tin
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. fine — all right
  19. cell — in biology
  20. court — of a king
  21. field — for sport
  22. can — to be able to
  23. fine — high quality
  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