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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ball — a great time
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. ball — a dance
  7. mine — for digging
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. charge — electricity
  12. shower — rain
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. firm — a company
  16. row — a line
  17. kid — child
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. charge — in control
  20. firm — decided
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. charge — a price
  23. firm — steady
  24. row — to paddle

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