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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. court — for sport
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. mug — to rob
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. court — of a king
  8. mug — a cup
  9. shower — rain
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. content — the amount
  12. date — the fruit
  13. content — happy
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. court — of law
  17. vault — a safe
  18. mug — a face
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. shower — to wash
  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