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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. hand — in cards
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. court — of law
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. hand — help
  9. row — a line
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. row — to paddle
  18. court — for sport
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. sharp — clever
  23. court — of a king
  24. patient — a sick person

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