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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  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. fine — high quality
  2. track — a song
  3. game — a match
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. fine — all right
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. track — a path
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. hand — help
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. game — wild animals
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. capital — money
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. capital — a city
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  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