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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. land — ground
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. court — of law
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. court — of a king
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cue — for pool
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. current — electric
  16. land — to come down
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. current — of water
  20. cue — a signal
  21. land — a country
  22. current — happening now
  23. court — for sport
  24. bat — the animal

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