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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. present — there
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pop — music
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fork — in a road
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. present — the time now
  15. present — a gift
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pop — soda
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. ground — a position
  21. kid — child
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the fish
  24. pop — to visit

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