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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. capital — a city
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. capital — money
  8. can — a tin
  9. club — a group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. ground — a position
  13. club — for golf
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. ground — crushed
  16. club — for dancing
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. rush — hurry
  19. can — a tin
  20. band — a ring
  21. ground — the earth
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. game — a match
  24. can — to be able to

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