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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · rest · wound · key · patient · pop · game · capital

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. capital — money
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. capital — a city
  5. pop — music
  6. key — in music
  7. wound — an injury
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rest — a break
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rest — what's left
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. key — for a lock
  16. game — a match
  17. pop — to visit
  18. wound — an injury
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. key — the most important part
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pop — soda

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