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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. mine — for digging
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. capital — money
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. capital — a city
  13. row — a line
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. swing — music
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. row — to paddle
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. swing — in golf

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