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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 116 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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. craft — a skill
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. race — the arms race
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. staff — employees
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. land — a country
  11. hand — in cards
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. capital — a city
  18. race — a contest
  19. capital — money
  20. craft — boats
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. race — humankind
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. hand — help

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