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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. object — to protest
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. pit — a hole
  6. cold — not warm
  7. object — an aim
  8. court — of law
  9. swing — in golf
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pit — in a race
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — in sport
  15. court — for sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. swing — music
  19. object — a thing
  20. net — for catching
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. net — after costs
  23. court — of a king
  24. mouse — for a computer

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