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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cold — an illness
  7. current — electric
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cold — not warm
  11. club — for dancing
  12. ball — a dance
  13. rash — hasty
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. current — happening now
  17. rash — a series
  18. current — of water
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for golf
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — hurry

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