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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. band — a ring
  3. present — there
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. shower — rain
  6. lie — to recline
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. spell — magic
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — money
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. present — a gift
  16. capital — a city
  17. shower — to wash
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. band — a music group
  21. present — the time now
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. spell — letters
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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