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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  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. game — a match
  2. mine — for digging
  3. drill — the tool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chest — a box
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. drill — army training
  14. snap — to click
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. drill — a practice
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chest — of your body
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. game — a kind of play
  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