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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  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. rash — a series
  2. court — for sport
  3. bound — tied together
  4. wound — an injury
  5. game — a match
  6. court — of law
  7. mate — a partner
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. fine — high quality
  11. mate — to breed
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bound — obliged
  14. fine — all right
  15. mate — a friend
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — hasty
  20. court — of a king
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bound — certain
  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