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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. game — wild animals
  3. row — a line
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. club — for dancing
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. sharp — clever
  9. saw — the tool
  10. swing — in golf
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. club — a group
  13. tube — a container
  14. saw — the tool
  15. club — for golf
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. tube — the underground
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. row — to paddle
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. row — a quarrel

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