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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — boats
  5. club — for dancing
  6. capital — money
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. club — a group
  9. cap — a lid
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cap — of ice
  12. root — of a plant
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. root — the cause
  16. perch — the fish
  17. club — for golf
  18. cap — a hat
  19. root — of a word
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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