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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. capital — a city
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rule — government
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. rule — a law
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. drill — the tool
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. drill — army training
  14. rash — hasty
  15. bass — low music
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rash — a series
  22. capital — money
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fork — in a road

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