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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. band — a music group
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. present — the time now
  8. press — a publisher
  9. capital — a city
  10. present — there
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bore — to drill
  14. press — newspapers
  15. band — a ring
  16. capital — money
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a hole
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bore — to tire
  22. press — to push
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. present — a gift

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