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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 120 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. capital — a city
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. lie — to recline
  5. land — to come down
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. land — ground
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. current — happening now
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. season — in sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cell — a phone
  16. land — a country
  17. season — of the year
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. current — electric
  22. capital — money
  23. current — of water
  24. wound — an injury

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