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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. roll — a list
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. shower — rain
  10. court — of law
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — high quality
  13. cold — not warm
  14. roll — a cake
  15. rest — a break
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. rest — what's left
  19. shower — to wash
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. snap — to click
  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