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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cell — in biology
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. club — a group
  12. rock — music
  13. club — for dancing
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. club — for golf
  16. mine — for digging
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. cell — a phone
  22. track — a song
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mine — belonging to me

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