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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. spell — magic
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. spell — letters
  7. land — ground
  8. game — a match
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. land — a country
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rock — a stone
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. land — to come down
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rock — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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