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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. land — a country
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. capital — money
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. capital — a city
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. land — ground
  15. game — wild animals
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. land — to come down
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. game — a match
  21. wax — to grow
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. foot — a measure

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