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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: squash · chair · shower · ground · patient · capital · mouse · bat

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. shower — to wash
  5. squash — the sport
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. capital — money
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. shower — rain
  20. capital — a city
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bat — the animal
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. ground — a position

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