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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. kick — in football
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. row — to paddle
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. wake — a trail
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bass — low music
  15. saw — the tool
  16. row — a line
  17. capital — money
  18. saw — the tool
  19. capital — a city
  20. bass — the fish
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. game — a match

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