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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 beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chair — a leader
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. capital — a city
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bound — certain
  7. craft — boats
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bound — tied together
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. capital — money
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bound — obliged
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — the earth
  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