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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 120 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. content — happy
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. game — wild animals
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bat — the animal
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. game — a match
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. rash — hasty
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. patient — a sick person

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