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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. ball — a dance
  2. field — a subject
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. dip — to sink
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. deal — to handle
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. kid — child
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. field — farmland
  19. mine — for digging
  20. ball — a great time
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. field — for sport
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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