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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. land — a country
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. court — of law
  6. mate — to breed
  7. court — of a king
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. mate — a partner
  12. land — to come down
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. rush — hurry
  15. court — for sport
  16. land — ground
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. mate — a friend
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. pound — a weight
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. patient — a sick person

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