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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. court — for sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. rock — music
  9. mug — a cup
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mug — a face
  15. net — for catching
  16. cold — not warm
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. court — of law
  19. net — in sport
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. net — after costs
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. court — of a king

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