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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. court — of law
  4. wax — to grow
  5. mate — a friend
  6. shower — rain
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. court — for sport
  11. shower — to wash
  12. mate — to breed
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. tube — a container
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. court — of a king
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. squash — the sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. tube — the underground

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