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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. court — for sport
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. present — there
  6. capital — money
  7. band — a ring
  8. bass — low music
  9. present — the time now
  10. band — a music group
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. court — of law
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bore — to drill
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. capital — a city
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. court — of a king
  24. bore — to tire

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