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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. hand — in cards
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. land — a country
  6. game — wild animals
  7. land — to come down
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. game — a match
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. hand — help
  16. fine — high quality
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ball — a dance
  19. land — ground
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. swing — music
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. fine — all right

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