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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. fine — all right
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bat — the animal
  9. ball — a dance
  10. shower — rain
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bore — to tire
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bore — to drill
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. shower — to wash

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