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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. capital — a city
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. track — a song
  11. tube — a container
  12. prune — to trim
  13. capital — money
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. spring — the season
  17. prune — to trim
  18. track — to keep track
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. track — a path
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. tube — the underground

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