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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. capital — money
  3. last — to go on
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. capital — a city
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. last — final
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. last — finally
  13. lean — thin
  14. hand — help
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. content — happy
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pitch — completely
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lean — to bend
  24. content — the amount

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