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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.

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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. rock — a stone
  4. cold — not warm
  5. court — of law
  6. rock — music
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. prune — to trim
  14. face — part of the head
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chip — to eat
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. ball — a great time
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ball — a dance

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