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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. capital — a city
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. board — a committee
  5. rash — a series
  6. ball — a dance
  7. capital — money
  8. rash — hasty
  9. date — the fruit
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — not warm
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. ball — a great time
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. board — to get on
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. cold — an illness

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