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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. saw — the tool
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. court — of law
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mine — for digging
  11. court — of a king
  12. board — to get on
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. board — a committee
  15. march — the month
  16. court — for sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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