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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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. present — the time now
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. face — to point toward
  5. tube — the underground
  6. present — a gift
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. ball — a great time
  9. face — part of the head
  10. shower — rain
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. face — to confront
  14. tube — a container
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. shower — to wash
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. present — there
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. ball — a dance
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ball — a round shape

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