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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 116 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. shower — to wash
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. object — to protest
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. suit — to fit
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. object — a thing
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bat — the animal
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. shower — rain
  20. suit — in cards
  21. object — an aim
  22. suit — clothes
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bat — in an idiom

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